Until the End
by Trowakun
Summary: Set in an alternate dimension from the normal story line...vampires have over run the world...will the Weiss and Schwartz Boys survive?
1. Intro: Hello

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence - Hello

**_Intro: Hello ... _**

The air was cold and crisp the morning of that fateful day.  A sixteen year old girl fought with her mother about wearing a sweater as the girl attempted to get out the door before she was late for school.

"Akane! Just take it with you! You don't want to get sick now do you?  And do you have your cross with you?"  Her mother's crystal blue eyes pleaded with the girl.

The girl sighed, frustrated "Yes mother, I have my cross!"  She snatched the soft cloth sweater from her mother's hand, then dashed out the door, "Bye mom!!!"  The door slammed shut as she ran down the walk, and out the front gate.  She skid as she turned and headed towards the high-school down the road.

Her three friends were waiting out side as she dashed up, panting and out of breath.  "Almost late again, Akane!"  One of her friends prodded, the rest of her friends giggled.

Still panting, she just held up the sweater. "Mom…" was choked out. 

"Ahh…" 

Any more conversation was cut off as the bell sounded for them to go to home room.

_playground__ schoolbell rings again_

Lunch came around and the four piled out to eat lunch out under their favorite tree. "So…Akane…you and your mom fightin' again?" a girl with midnight black hair asked.

Akane paused from the bite she was just going to take of her sandwich.  "Un…of course, Mari.  Don't we always?"

"My dad and I always fight!"  The blonde on the other side of Akane piped up.  

The red head across from Akane poked the blonde, "Yeah…but you and your dad live by yourselves, Crissy.  And…it's just different between daughters and dads than it is between moms and daughters."

"Hai!  Strawberry's right!!!" Mari nodded, agreeing with the red head.

"MARI! STOP CALLING ME THAT!" The red head, Nici, reached over and playfully slapped at the other.  The two argued as Crissy and Akane watched, both giggling at their friends.

The sky slowly started to cloud over, a storm was rolling in.  Akane looked up at it, knowing they'd soon need to go in.  But not yet…it was best to let Mari and Nici 'fight' it out first

Out of the corner of her eye, Akane saw someone standing on the other side of the fence which wasn't too far from the tree the girls were lounging under.  He was a young man, yet older than the girls…probably around nineteen or twenty.  Their eyes met, she could see so much loneliness and sadness in his eyes. 

Crissy noticed Akane staring at something and looked, but didn't see anything.  "Akane?" She placed a gentle hand on the other girl's shoulder, "Akane? Are you ok?"  By now the other two had stopped fighting, having heard the concern in Crissy's voice.

"Akane?"  Mari waved her hand in front of her eyes.

Akane shook her head, startled. "Ah…gomen!  Guess I was day dreaming again."  She smiled cheerfully. 

The other three looked at each other with concern.  But nothing more was said as suddenly thunder and lightning clashed over head.  The girls screamed as the rain began to pour down and they ran back to the building.  At the archway, Akane paused and looked back at where the man had been standing, but he was no longer there.

_rain__ clouds come to play again_

The rain continued to rest of the day.  They four stood under the main archway.  "Akane! I can't believe you forgot an umbrella! I thought you always kept one packed in your book bag." Nici frowned slightly at her friend.

"I cleaned it out last night and forgot to put it back in."  She smiled at her friends, who all had umbrellas.  "It's ok, I'll go call mom, I'm sure she'll bring me one."

"You sure? I mean…you could take mine … Crissy and I live close enough that I'm sure she'd let me walk with her…" Mari asked.

Akane shook her head, "Its ok.  You know my mom…she'll be more than happy to bring me one.  You guys go ahead and I'll call you tonight!"

"Ok!"  The three girls set out and a moment later Akane turned to walk back inside.

The halls were empty as she made her way to the phone.  Picking up the receiver, she dialed home.  Three rings … five rings … seven rings … someone finally picked up, "Hello? Mom?"

The voice at the end of the phone was deep and gruff, "Is this Akane Shiguru?" 

Akane blinked, not expecting a man, as her father had died several years ago. "H..hai? Where is my mother?"

"We were called to your house and arrived moments ago to find your mother collapsed, she's being prepared to be taken to the hospital as we speak." Akane dropped the phone and ran out into the rain.  "It would be my advice…miss? Hello?  HELLO???"

Akane ran past other classmates, not care that she was being drenched.  She slipped and fell as she attempted to make the turn towards home.  Ignoring the pain in her leg, she scrambled back up and started running again.  Moments later she burst into the house to see two paramedics putting her mother on a stretcher.  A third paramedic was pumping a device, attempting to keep her mother's lungs working. 

The officer who had been talking to Akane on the phone blinked as the girl, bloody and drenched, burst in.  He glanced at the phone still in his hand, at her, then back at the phone, finally hanging it up he walked over to the breathless school girl. "Akane?"

Akane's eyes were fixed on her mother's motionless form.  "Mama…"

The officer looked at her, then over at the other, younger officer, "Mamoru…would you...?"

The younger man nodded and walked over to Akane, "Why don't you take a seat, let's get your leg bandaged up."

Akane blinked, looking away from her mother's form and up at the man talking to her.  _The man from before…_

He blinked at her, startled from the voice he had suddenly heard in his head.  Shaking it off, he guided her over to a chair.

She moved slowly, glancing back at the ambulance that her mother had since been loaded into.  Finally she sat, glanced at the officer, then back at the ambulance.  The ambulance slowly pulled away as she watched.  

Mamoru looked at the wounds on her leg.  "Marc, I think she needs stitches…"

The older officer looked over at Mamoru and nodded, "Alright, we'll take her in our car.  It's probably better that way.  Looks like she's going into shock."

Mamoru nodded and gently picked Akane up into his arms, following his coworker out to their car, ignoring the rain and setting her in the back seat.  He slid in next to her and closed the door as Marc climbed into the driver's seat.  Akane leaned against Mamoru.  He looked down at her and could see the look on her face as shock began to fully set in. 

Minutes later they pulled into the hospital and Mamoru ran Akane into the ER.  The nurse looked up at him questioningly.  "They just brought a woman in who wasn't breathing…this is her daughter."

The nurse saw the blood coming from Akane's leg and nodded, "Bring her this way." The nurse ushered them into a room, then shooed Mamoru out.  

Marc walked in and looked at Mamoru, "Where is she?"

"The nurse has her in that room." Mamoru sat down in a waiting room chair.  Marc soon copied him.

About twenty minutes later the nurse came out with Akane in a wheel chair.  Akane's injured leg having been stitched up and bandaged.  A warm blanket covered the sixteen year old as she just stared blankly.  "The doctor says she is in shock and has given her something for it.  However, I think it would do her good if we could find her mother and take her to her."

The two officers rose and nodded.  Mamoru took over steering the wheel chair as the nurse went over to the desk for a moment to find the location of Akane's mother.  Seconds later they were walking down the hall in the direction of an ER operating room.

Mamoru wheeled Akane up to a window where she could see her mother.  A tear slid down Akane's cheek as she watched her mother just…lay there.  A doctor was adjusting a setting on some of the equipment then walked out and saw the officers and walked over.

"Ah…Doctor…how is Mrs. Shiguru?" Marc asked.  The doctor looked at the girl questioningly.  "This is her daughter, Akane."  The doctor nodded slightly then began talking to Marc.  

Akane wasn't listening; she was just staring at her mother.  Tears flowing from her eyes as she remembered how they fought this morning.  Moments later alarms went off and the nurse and doctor ran back into the room where Akane's mother was.  

Mamoru went to move Akane away so she didn't have to watch.  "Iie!" She screeched.  It was the first time she had said something since she had arrived home.  Her eyes were glued to her mother as the doctor and nurses worked on her.  Tears flowed even more freely as she continued to watch … the situation looked hopeless.

Minutes later the doctor lowered his head and pulled the sheet over the woman's head.  He turned and looked at the officers and daughter, shaking his head slowly.

_has__ no one told you she's not breathing_

Mamoru sat with Akane in the waiting room as Marc attempted to contact any relatives.  "….I didn't even tell her I loved her…" Akane mumbled finally after hours of silence.

Mamoru looked over at her sadly.  "Gomen nasai, Akane-san…"

She looked over at him, the tears having stopped awhile ago.  The way she was looking at him led her to believe she didn't recognize him.  After a moment, recognition registered on her face and her eyes welled up with tears again.  He quietly put and arm around her shoulders and pulled her close as she started crying again.

Mamoru looked up as Marc walked back over.  The look on Mamoru's face was a question on if Marc had found any relatives.  Marc shook his head and whispered, "She and her mother were all that was left…"

They both looked at her then Mamoru looked back at Marc, "It's getting late, she can stay at my place for the night."  Marc nodded slightly. "Akane…Akane…" He shook her gently.  

Akane looked up, her eyes red and swollen from crying.  Marc knelt down beside her, "Akane, Mamoru is going to take you to his place for the night, so you don't have to be home by yourself."  A mild confused/frightened look came to her eyes.  "Don't worry…there are several other people at his place.  You'll be ok there.  They'll take care of you.  In the morning we'll help you find another place to stay.  Maybe with some friends from school?"  She nodded slightly at that.  "Good…" Marc rose and pulled out his car keys.  "I'll get the car."

Mamoru stood up as Marc walked off, then picked Akane up into his arms.  A nurse walked over and handed Mamoru a package.  "Here's some pain medicine for her.  It should help her sleep as well."

Mamoru nodded, "Thank you, I'm sure she'll appreciate it."  The nurse nodded and walked off.  "Ready to get some sleep?" He asked Akane.  She nodded slowly and laid her head on his shoulder as he walked her out to the car.

The ride to Mamoru's home was short.  When they arrived though, Akane had already fallen into a restless sleep.  Marc helped Mamoru get Akane out of the car and then walked with him and held the door for him.  "I'll call you around ten.  I'm going to head back to the office and start writing the report." 

Mamoru nodded, "Alright.  See you tomorrow." The door shut behind him as he carried Akane into the house.  

"Chibi? Is that you?"  A man with orange-ish hair peeked around the corner, his eyes widening in surprise.

Mamoru's eyes narrowed slightly as he sighed, "Just help me get her somewhere comfortable" he paused a moment, "…and safe."

The other man just chuckled.  "Around here the safest places would be Ran's or your room."

With a scowl, Mamoru pushed past him, careful of Akane's wounds.  "…some help you are."  He took her to his room and laid her in the bed, pulling out the medication and laying on the night stand.  

The other man followed him in and actually started helping as he pulled the covers over her.  "What happened to her?"

Mamoru looked up at him, "Last of her family died…" He turned and walked out of the room to get a glass of water to set with the medication.

The other man tilted his head and peeked into her mind.

_hello__ ... I'm your mind_

_giving__ you someone to talk to_

_hello__..._

The next morning came all too soon as Mamoru was awakened by a phone ringing.  He pulled a couch pillow over his head and attempted to ignore it.

"Hello?  … Yes, he's here, but he's still asleep … Ok, hold on just a minute …" Youji walked over to Mamoru and shook him lightly on the shoulder, "Omi…wake up, phone's for you."

Sleepily, he stuck his hand out  for the phone, mumbling, "Who is it?"

"Your partner…" Youji handed him the phone and walked back to the kitchen from whence he had come.

"Hello?  Yeah…just a bit … Ok … I'll go by and talk to them, then … alright … thanks … ja ne …" He turned the phone off and sat up, stretching with a grunt.

Youji peeked out, "Late night again?"

"Yes…" Omi stood up and walked into the kitchen. 

"Guess that explains the couch…" Youji chuckled and handed Omi a glass of orange juice.

Omi eyed the glass, then quickly downed the liquid.  "Not…exactly…"

The other man from the night before walked in, "Hey, Chibi…is she awake yet?"

"She?" Youji blinked and looked at the telepath, then looked back at Omi.

Omi looked at the other man, "Does it look like I've checked yet?"

He chuckled, "Ok…I guess not"

"She? Who? What are you guys talking about? Omi brought a girl home?" Youji's face was of shock and confusion.  Omi just shook his head, set the glass on the counter and walked out of the kitchen.  Youji looked at the telepath, "Schuldig! What's going on?"

"Its related to his work…" Schuldig snatched a clean glass and poured the rest of the orange juice from the container and drank it.

Youji blinked for a moment thinking about Omi, then looked at Schuldig, "HEY! That was the last of the orange juice!!!"

Omi ignored the fight that was about to ensue and walked to his room, knocking lightly on the door.  When there was no answer he peeked in to see Akane rolled onto her side, her back facing him.  Quietly he creeped into the room, going beside the bed and resting a hand lightly on her shoulder and attempting to look over at her face.  She was staring blankly at the wall.  "Akane?"

She rolled her eyes up to look at him.  "Mm…hai?"

He looked over at the night stand and picked up the glass of water and two of the pills, "Do you need something for pain?"

She nodded and rolled over slowly, wincing slightly, and then sat up.  She took the medicine from him and quickly swallowed it, drinking half of the glass of water and handing it back to him, "…doomo…"  He nodded and sat the glass back down on the table. "What…time is it?" She asked as she looked around the room.

"A little after ten…"

Her eyes widened, "I'm late for school!!!"

He blinked, not expecting her to think of school at a time like this.  "It's ok…I think they will understand why you are absent."

"Iie!" She struggled to get up, "I have to go…there's a bit presentation today in fifth period.  I have to go!!!!"

Schuldig and Youji had heard Akane's initial exclamation about being late to school and were now at the door.  _It's…as if she has forgotten about her mother and yesterday…_Schuldig told Youji, who just nodded slightly.

Omi didn't know what to say to her, instead he helped her up.  "Well, you can't go in those clothes…they are ruined…" 

She looked down at her clothes, torn from the fall.  Looking up at the others, "Does anyone have something I could borrow?"

Schuldig blinked and shook his head, "I don't think my stuff would fit."

Youji nodded, "Neither would mine."

"Maybe Ken has something…All I have is shorts and uniform pants for work, and you should probably wear something to cover your bandages." Omi went to a draw and pulled out a shirt, "But you can wear this…"

Youji nodded at what Omi said and walked down the hall, knocking on Ken's door.  A moment later they could hear mild arguing then feet running up the hall.  Ken looked around the door and his eyes widened.  "….hi…" Omi sighed and Akane just blinked at him.  

A second later Youji walked around Ken and into the room, tossing Omi a pair of jeans.  "Those should fit."

Omi caught the jeans and laid them on the bed. "Ok, we'll let you get dressed." He turned and shooed the others out of the room, closing the door behind him.

A little while later she limped out of the room in Omi's shirt and Ken's jeans.  She found everyone up front in the living room.  "Would someone mind driving me to my school?" she asked with a smile.

They looked over at her and Omi rose, "If you'll give me a minute to get ready, I'll take you.  I have to head in to work anyways."  She nodded and sat down to wait.  The men looked at her and each other.  The silence in the room was intensified by the 'unusualness' of the situation.  Minutes later Omi walked out of his room.  "Ok Akane, lets go."

He helped her out to his car and drove her to school.  Lunch had just started and various people were pouring out of the building to find their favorite eating spots.  Omi parked near the front of the building and walked around to help Akane out. "Maybe we should have asked for a crutch for you."

She smiled, "I'll be fine."

Mari poked Nici in the ribs, "Look…its Akane!"  Nici and Crissy looked over.

"Who is she with?" Crissy questioned.  "Isn't that a police officer?"

"I'd like to know what on earth she is wearing!" Nici wailed.  "That certainly isn't the school uniform!"

Mari set her lunch down and stood up, "She's limping…something must have happened…come on…" She dashed off towards the building, Nici and Crissy not far behind.  "AKANE!!!!"

Akane and Omi stopped from their trek to the main office.  "Ahh…you talk to your friends.  I'll go talk to the office."

Akane nodded and turned to her friends.  "Hey guys!" She smiled at them.

"Akane! Where have you been?"

"What happened?"

"Who is that?"

"Why are you limping?"

"Why are you dressed that way?"

Mari and Crissy turned and looked at Nici as she asked the last question.  Akane just giggled.  "I'm fine…I...that's Officer Takatori…I had to stay at his place last night…I had to borrow some clothes…"

The three blinked at her, Crissy finally spoke up, "Why…did you have to stay with a police officer?"

Akane lowered her head, "Mom…died last night…"

"WHAT??!?!?!!" The three girls hollered, acquiring looks from nearby passerbys.  "Are you ok?"

Akane looked up, the smile on her face hardly masking the pain behind it, "Yeah…I'm fine."

_if__ I smile and don't believe_

_soon__ I know I'll wake from this dream_

"Why…why are you here? Akane! You should be resting…" Mari looked at her friend with concern.

"We have that presentation in fifth period.  I'm not about to make you guys do it on your own." She smiled, a slight tone of seriousness in her voice.

"Akane! We would have survived without you…somehow…" Nici responded.

Crissy elbowed Nici, "I'm sure the teacher would have given us an extension…"

Akane shook her head, "No, I think we should do it today." She smiled, "The sooner it's over…the better."

_don't__ try to fix me I'm not broken_

Omi talked with the head master for about an hour and a half, then called Marc and told him what he found out.  Hanging up the phone he turned to the secretary, "Where can I find Akane Shiguru at this hour?"

The secretary looked up from her computer, "Ahh…hold on a moment…" She turned back to the computer and pulled up another screen and typed in some data, "She is currently in fifth period, room 283."

"Thank you." He bowed slightly to the secretary then briskly turned and walked out of the office, heading upstairs.  He found the room easily enough and quietly waited outside the door.

Akane and her friends were up giving their presentation.  Well, 'up' was just a figure of speech.  They had pulled a chair up front so that Akane could sit while they gave the presentation.  Omi smiled slightly as he watched and listened.  _She actually looks happy right now…how…after what happened to her yesterday…how can she be so cheerful?  He looked down at his hands, running a finger over the many tiny scars on his wrist, hand and fingers. _How? To loose all that was left of her family_ he looked back up__ how can she just smile and continue on as if nothing happened? He looked at her friends, then back at her.  _Is it for the sake of her friends? No…she was acting this way earlier before I brought her here.__

A hall patrol officer walked up to Omi, "Can I help you?"

Omi blinked and looked at the officer, "Ah…gomen, I'm waiting for someone."

"We don't allow loitering in the halls, I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to wait outside of the school." The officer responded.  Omi frowned slightly then pulled out his badge, showing it to the other.  "Oh, I'm sorry.  I'll leave you be then."

Omi nodded as the hall patrol officer walked off.  He looked down at his badge, running a finger over the details in the metal.  The light shone off of it and he looked at the reflection in it … or, more specifically, the lack there of.  Putting the badge away, he closed his eyes tightly, _If_ I can just …help…__

_hello__ ... I'm the lie_

_living__ for you so you can hide_

_don't__ cry_

The bell for end of fifth period rang.  The students exited the class, Akane and her friends coming out last.  Omi straightened and looked at them.

"Oh…its you…" Mari looked at Omi a bit annoyed.  Akane blinked and looked at him, a puzzled look on her face.

"If you ladies would excuse us, I need to speak with Miss Shiguru in private." He eyes the other three.

They looked at Akane and she just nodded at them, "It's ok guys.  I'll…talk to you all later."

"Ok…take care…"

"Call us if you need anything!"

The girls walked off and Akane limped over to Omi.  "I talked with the head master" Omi started, offering her a hand to help her.  She accepted the help as they went back to his car.  "He thinks it would be wise if you took a sabbatical from school.  They'll hold everything and you can come back and make up the work later, when you are ready."

"Oh…" she sat down in the car.  "But I really want to continue…"

Omi shut the door on her side and walked around to the driver's side.  "Akane, your head master, the doctors and I agree, you need some time to … heal … after what's happened." He started the car and pulled away from the school.  Akane sat quietly.  "Do you have anywhere to stay?"  

She shook her head, "With…everything that's…been going on in the world recently…iie…My friends' families are all suspicious of taking in other people…"

Omi stopped at a red light, "I see…"  Silence ruled once again as he pulled out at the green light and came to Akane's house.  "Let's…get you some changes of clothes…"

About thirty minutes later Akane limped back out of the house with Omi's help.  They had a bag of clothes for her, a pillow, and some other various things she might need.  "We can get you a hotel room to stay in if you'd like…"  He told her as she sat back down into the car.

Akane's eyes widened, clutching at the cross around her neck, "Iie! Mother told me never to go to hotels…"

Omi eyed her motions, slightly sadly and nodded, "Hai…well…I suppose you can stay at our place again until you can find someplace more suitable."

She bit her lip, really hating to impose on him like this.  She looked down at her injured leg, _But…__I should be safe there…Omi raised an eyebrow.  She looked back up at him, "Are you sure it's ok? I don't want to be imposing or anything…" _

Omi nodded, "It's ok…" he tossed her stuff in the back seat and walked around, climbing into the driver's seat.  "And its better than you staying with Marc…considering he almost lives at the station…" a hint of laughter in his voice made her smile and relax.

_suddenly__ I know I'm not sleeping_

_hello__ … I'm still here_

_all__ that's left of yesterday_

_04/22/03 - By: Akari Kanzaki_

Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
Mistakes of the Past


	2. Life

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence - Bring me to Life

**_Life…_**

Hours turned into days, and days turned into weeks.  Akane had slowly adjusted to living with Omi and his friends; emphasis on slowly.  Several times she got into conflicts with the guys…several times the guys got into conflicts about her and in front of her…several times her friends criticized her for staying with Omi and his friends…several times her friends [parents] refused her to stay at their homes…several times she would break down crying in a remote location of the house.

Eventually the guys realized that Akane wasn't leaving.  She had no where to go and they couldn't just throw her out.  They knew what would happen to her if they did.  So they had cleaned out a room used for storage, giving her a room of her own.  They even helped her box things up from the house she lived in with her mother, eventually selling it so she didn't have to be concerned with.

"Akane! Why don't you just use the money from the house and rent an apartment!" Mari questioned over the phone.  "I mean…at least you wouldn't be living with a bunch of guys!"

"I've heard the apartments near school are really nice, Akane…maybe you should look into them." Nici's voice sounded dreamy, like she was wishing she could move out.

"I…I don't want to.  I'd be by myself…and it...would scary.  Omi-kun says that the number of calls the police station is getting for missing persons has increased about 75% in the past two weeks."  Akane closed her eyes as she talked to her friends over the phone.  She was sitting on the bed in her little room, staring down at a science book.  "…and he says it's doubtful that they'll ever find Crissy…" 

Silence lingered on the phone.  A few minutes later Mari and Akane could hear Nici's mother come into Nici's room and tell her to get off the phone.  "I gotta go guys…see you at school tomorrow."

"Hai…"  
"See ya…"  
  


Nici hung up, leaving Mari and Akane on the phone.  "So…he thinks…Crissy…is gone for good?" Mari's voice seemed to tremble slightly.

Akane bit her lip.  "Yeah…he said only about 2% of the missing cases are ever found…alive."

Once again the line was silent for a moment.  "I…need to go study for that test we have tomorrow.  See you at school, Akane.  Ja ne."

"Ja ne."  Akane hung the phone up and looked down at the book again.

_How can you see into my eyes_

_like_ open doors__

Omi slammed the door shut of the house as he walked in.  Ran and Nagi, who had been playing chess, looked up at him.  His eyes seemed hollow, his uniform torn and stained.  As he walked past them, Ran reached out and stopped him.  "What happened?"

He slowly looked down at Ran, his hand twitching slightly.  "Stake out…was just an ambush…"  Ran released Omi with a nod.  Omi walked on past and to his room.  His door slamming shut.

Akane heard the doors slam and decided studying for the science test could wait till later.  She hopped up and walked out of her room, padding down the hallway to Omi's room and knocking lightly on the door.

"Who is it?"  the voice was tired and a bit gruff.

"It's me…" she quietly responded.  "Are…you ok?"

"Yeah…" there was a pause and the door opened slightly.

She pushed it open and slipped into the room.  He had the lights off, but she was able to see him sitting on the bed.  She shut the door behind her and walked over, sitting down on the floor in front of him.  "You don't seem ok…what is it?"

He looked up at her and she saw the pain in his eyes.  She had always seen pain, sadness and loneliness in his eyes, but this pain was greater than ever before.  "We were ambushed…" He lowered his head into his hands.  "They got him…they got Marc…"

A small tear same to the edge of Akane's eye; she understood loss all too well.  Lifting her hand, she placed it gently on Omi's knee.  "I'm sorry…"  It was useless to say more.  

After awhile, he looked back up at her.  The white of his eyes red, either from stress from the events of the day, or from crying; either way, she wasn't going to comment on it.  She was smiling comfortingly at him, yet he knew it was just a mask.  "Masks are all we have anymore, eh…?"  She blinked at him, confused by what he was saying.  "…don't you have a test to be studying for?"

"Ahh…h...hai…" She blinked, still confused.

"Go on and study for it.  I'm ok." 

She nodded and headed back to her room, more confused than before.

_leading_ you down into my core__

_where_ I've become so numb?__

Akane sat down in her desk with a yawn.

"Akane!!!" Nici wailed slighted…then yawned as well.  "Th…at's…not nice…"

She smiled sleepily back at her friend, "Sorry, I was up studying rather late."

Mari walked up behind them and sat down at her desk.  "Think any more about getting an apartment of your own? At least then you could study without interruptions."

Akane turned around to look at Mari.  "I told you last night that I don't want to.  It's not safe.  Just look around us!  How many classmates have we lost in the past two months?  Omi came home last night…they went on a stake out last night and they were ambushed!  Marc is dead!"

Mari and Nici blinked at Akane, shocked partly at her outburst and partly at the facts she divulged. "Officer Marc…is dead?" Mari repeated slowly.  

Akane nodded.  "It's just getting worse.  The only reason we can still come to school is because its in the day…and its safe in the day time…"

Nici frowned slightly.  "It's getting scary…can't even go shopping in the evenings anymore!"

Akane and Mari looked at Nici.  "Nici…you're such a ditzy!"  Nici blinked and promptly hit Mari for that.  Akane just sighed and turned around in her seat as the fight continued.

_Without a soul;_

_my_ spirit's sleeping somewhere cold,__

As soon as school let out, Akane headed straight home.  That's what all the students did anymore, as they got out too late to do much of anything else before it got to the curfew hour where it was dangerous to be out.  First thing she noticed though was that Omi's car was there.

She went inside and went to her room, dropping off her books.  Stretching, she walked back down the hallway to Omi's room, knocking on the door.  After a moment of no response she knocked again, "Omi-kun? Daijobuka?"  With no answer she slowly opened the door and peeked in.

He was on his bed, staring at the ceiling, not seeming to notice her.  She padded over and knelt down beside the bed, laying a hand on his shoulder and shaking him gently, "Omi-kun?"

He blinked and rolled his head over to look at her. "Akane-san…gomen ne…I'm not feeling well today."

She nodded, "Do you need me to bring you anything?  Something to eat? Drink?"

"Water please."  

She brought him water, but set it on the night stand as he was asleep when she got back.  She went back to her room to study but found that she just wasn't in the mood to do so.  Slamming the book shut, she hopped up and went up to the kitchen.

Schuldig turned from the sandwich he was making to look at her as she walked in.  "Can't study, huh?"

She blinked at him mildly confused, "Something like that…"  She opened the freezer and pulled out something to heat up.

He watched her as he munched on his sandwich, "You're worried about him…"

Hitting start on the microwave, she turned around to look at him, "How can you tell?"  Smirking, he just pointed to his head.  "Oh yeah…forgot…Ken said you were telepathic…" 

He finished off his sandwich and nodded, "And I'm not the only one in this house…"  With that he turned and walked out.

She stared after him, confused about what he was talking about, but her attention was drawn back to the microwave as it beeped.

_until_ you find it there and lead it back home.__

Math homework was the pits.  She just wasn't good at it no matter how hard she tried.  For years she had struggled with it to no avail.  That was until she had moved in with the guys.  Several of them were good with it and all she had to do was ask and they would help her understand it.  Picking up her math book and notepad, she walked out of her room and went in search of someone who could help her.

As she made her way around the house, she found it virtually empty.  "Where **is** everyone?"  Frowning she walked back towards her room, pausing at Omi's door.  She didn't want to disturb him…but she really did need help with her homework.  After a minute's debate, she knocked on the door.

"Come in."

_"Well…at least he's awake…"_ She turned the knob and poked her head in, "Omi-kun…"

Omi was propped up on his bed, reading a magazine.  He looked over at her, "Akane…what is it?"

She slipped in the rest of the way, allowing him to see her math book.  "I was wondering if you could help me with my homework.  I would have asked Nagi, but I couldn't find him…actually, I couldn't find anyone.  Where is everyone? Isn't it dangerous for them to be out at this time of night?"

He got up and walked towards her, "They can handle themselves…lets go out to the dinning room table to look at your homework.  Better light in there."

"Ok…" she slid out of his way then followed him to the dinning room where they proceeded to cover the table in papers covered in math equations.

_Wake me up._

_Wake me up inside._

_I can't wake up._

_Wake me up inside._

_"I just…I'm never going to get this!!!"_ Akane mentally wailed to herself.  They had been working on the second problem for about thirty minutes now.  The first one alone had taken an hour.

"Don't worry, you'll get this." Omi looked up and smiled at her.

She blinked, confused..._"I didn't say that out loud…Schu did say there was another telepath here…is it…"_

Omi raised an eyebrow at her, "Schuldig said there was another telepath here?"  She blinked hard and nodded.  "I can tell you for certain that it isn't me.  And since there isn't anyone else here…Akane…"

"Iie! Iie! I can't be!"  

She seemed to start freaking out, so Omi pulled her into a hug.  "It's ok, Akane.  If you are, it's ok.  Schuldig can teach you control…"

"Iie!!!" She shook her head and curled up in his hug. 

"Akane!"

_Save me._

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

Omi clenched his eyes shut as Akane pushed herself away from him.  Her chair fell to the ground and the book and papers slid across the table as she jumped up and ran to her room sobbing.

"Baka…" He mumbled and rubbed his temple.  Standing up, he picked up the chair that was knocked over and straightened up the book and papers.  Once done, he walked down the hall to her room, knocking on the door.  "Akane…Akane…open the door, let's talk about this…"

With no response he attempted the handle, to find the door unlocked.  Walking in, he found that she wasn't even in the room.  He turned around, trying to figure out where she was.  It was then he heard water running in the bathroom.  With a sigh he walked to the bathroom door and knocked.  "Akane…"

"I'm…taking a shower! Leave me alone…"  Her voice sounded hurt, but he had to expect that after what he suggested to her.

"Alright…Let me know when you are ready to work some more on your math homework…"  With a sigh, he walked up to the living room and sat down, turning the television on.

_Wake me up._

_Bid my blood to run._

Thirty minutes later she still wasn't out of the shower.  Worriedly, Omi debated checking on her, but decided to give her a little longer. He flipped the channel and scowled at the news that came on, quickly he changed the channel again.

_I can't wake up._

_Before I come undone.___

Fifteen minutes later he decided she'd been in there far too long.  "No one takes forty-five minutes showers…"  He walked back to the bathroom door and knocked.  "Akane…?"

The water was still running, but there was no response.

He frowned, something seemed wrong.  He pounded on the door, "Akane!"  With no response he used his shoulder to break in.  "Iie…"

_Save me._

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

What he saw horrified him.  Akane lay limply in the shower with the water streaming down on her from the shower head, yet it was more that water running down the drain.  He stepped over quickly and turned the water off, yanking a towel off the rack and wrapping it around her.  Carefully he pulled her out and checked her pulse.  "Akane…doushite?"  He clenched his eyes shut for a moment, wrapped her in more towels and then set quickly about bandaging her up.

_Now that I know what I'm without_

_you_ can't just leave me.__

Having bandaged her up as quickly as possible, he attempted to waken her.  He wondered how much blood she had lost … and would she survive it.  Picking her up carefully, he moved her back to her room and laid her on her bed then attempted to wake her up again.  "Akane…wake up…please…wake up…"

_Breathe into me and make me real._

_Bring me to life._

Glassy eyes fluttered open and looked at him.  Tears slowly started to trickle from her eyes.  Her lips moved slowly as she attempted to speak, but was unable to. _"Gomen…gomen…"_

_Wake me up._

_Wake me up inside._

He looked at her sadly, "Doushite?"

_I can't wake up._

_Wake me up inside._

She closed her eyes, unable to speak audibly, she used this 'power' that had just driven her to commit suicide over. _"I'm…scared…alone…frightened…"_

_Save me._

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

"Iie…" he shook his head, "You aren't alone…don't do this Akane…I've lost too many already…don't become another."

_Wake me up._

_Bid my blood to run._

She opened her eyes once more and looked into his; she could see the sadness again…greater than ever before. _"Gomen…I…I…I'm scared to live…and scared to die…"_

_I can't wake up._

_Before I come undone.___

He watched as tears streamed down her face.  Afraid to hug her with the blood loss, he gently just held her hand.  The look in her eyes begged him to help her.  He slowly closed his eyes.

_Save me._

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

_"Omi…onegai…I…can't live like this…help me please…"_  She watched his face, unable to tell what he was thinking.  _"My family is gone…the friends I have left alive are just worried…I can't continue living like this…"_

_Bring me to life._

_I've been living a lie ~ There's nothing inside._

_Bring me to life._

He opened his eyes.  "You have to choose, Akane.  You have to choose life or death.  That I cannot choose for you.  I want you to live, but it is still your choice."

She blinked at him and closed her eyes, thinking.  Finally she opened her eyes, _"…I choose…life…"_

He smiled slightly, happy that she didn't want to die.  "We need to hurry then…you've lost a lot of blood…"  

A wince of pain from her caused a frown on his face.  _"I…don't think I can…make it…to the hospital…"_

He nodded slightly, "There…is another…option…"  She looked up at him questioningly.  A silent pray was sent up that this wouldn't make matters worse.  Hesitation seemed to set in, but a strained breath for air from her drew his attention back to the current dilemma.  Finally, with a wince on his part, he showed her what he was talking about…he was a vampire. 

_Frozen inside without your touch,_

_without_ your love, darling.__

_Only you are the life among the dead._

Her eyes widened. _"I…I…never…knew…"_

_All of this sight_

_I can't believe I couldn't see_

_Kept in the dark_

_but_ you were there in front of me__

"No one here knows…except now…for you."  The look on his face showed her that he despised what he was.  "It…is still your choice, Akane…" 

_I've been sleeping a 1000 years it seems._

_I've got to open my eyes to everything._

She glanced down for a moment, and then looked back up at him.  

_Without a thought_

_Without a voice_

_Without a soul_

_"I … don't want to … die…"_

_Don't let me die here ~ There must be something more._

With a look of mild regret in his eyes, he nodded and complied.  Surely this was ok … right?  It would keep her from dying … right?

_ Bring me to life._

She felt a pain in her neck, but pain was good, right?  Meant she was still alive … right?

_Wake me up._

_Wake me up inside._

Her blood was sweet, but he had to keep himself in check.  She'd already lost a good bit of blood; it wouldn't take much to kill her now.

_I can't wake up._

_Wake me up inside._

Her body convulsed in pain and he withdrew.  Was it too much?  Had she lost more than he thought?  Would she survive?  "Akane…"

_Save me._

_Call my name and save me from the dark._

Carefully he moistened her lips with some of his own blood.  She had to survive.  He couldn't loose another.  He'd lost too many people that were close to him already.

_Wake me up._

_Bid my blood to run._

Suddenly she gasped and drew in a sharp breath of air.  Her eyes widened in fright.  He placed a hand on her forehead to calm her and handed her a cup, "Drink…"

_I can't wake up._

_Before I come undone.___

Weakly she leaned forward to drink.  The taste made her gag and she lurched slightly.  He held her still. "You have to drink!  If you want to live, you have to drink!!"  

_Save me._

_Save me from the nothing I've become._

Shutting her eyes tight she did as she was told.  It was horrid at first, the taste of iron making her cringe, but soon the initial effect wore off.  It still didn't taste good, but it was bearable. 

_Bring me to life._

_I've been living a lie ~ There's nothing inside._

_Bring me to life._

She finished and he allowed her to lay back on the bed.  She reached her hand up to her neck and felt gauze wrapped around it.  "I…figured it was best to bandage you up…"  She nodded then they both looked at the door as the main door of the house opened.  "The others are home…you should sleep."  He rose and quickly disposed of the glass.  Making sure she was covered and comfortable, he walked to the door, turning the light off and walking out.

Ken came out of the bathroom blinking and looking down the hall at Omi as he walked out.  "What the hell happened in there?"

Omi glanced at Ken, then down the hall at Ran, Schuldig and the others.  "Akane…attempted suicide…"

_04/23/03 - By: Akari Kanzaki_

Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
Mistakes of the Past


	3. Imaginary

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence - Imaginary

**_Imaginary_**

****

_…paper flowers…_

Rain poured down, hitting with fervor at the window, trying to wash away the blood that seemed to stain it.  But the blood wouldn't wash away; it just oozed down the inside of the glass, seemingly to taunt the rain that couldn't wash it away.

_i__ linger in the doorway  
of alarm clock screaming monsters calling my name  
let me stay  
where the wind will whisper to me  
where the raindrops as they're falling tell a story  
  
_

_Earlier…___

"Akane…" Omi shook her shoulder gently to wake her up.

"Mmm…" she rolled stiffly over to look at him, "What…time is it?"

He chuckled slightly, "Time for you to get up and go to school…if I recall, you have a math test today."

"AAAIIEEE!!!!" She sat up suddenly and quickly regretted it.  "Iiiittaiii!!!"  She rubbed her head.

Omi backed away, rubbing his head as well.  "Get ready for school.  Schuldig has breakfast on the table.  I'll get your books from the dinning room."  He turned and walked out leaving her to prepare.

She looked down at the bandages on her wrists and closed her eyes tightly for a moment.  Finally she rose and walked over to the mirror.  "A..a..ano…" She reached out fingers to touch it…the glass was smooth under her touch…her reflection was that of a ghost.  

Slowly she pulled her hand back and to her neck.  The gauze was still wrapped around, and it made her wonder what Omi had told the others about last night.

Something in the back of her head told her to leave the bandages for today.  Reaching down, she pulled open a drawer and shuffled around in it till she found a turtleneck buried in the back.  She pulled it out and shook it to remove the wrinkles.  She put it on then put the rest of her school uniform on over it.  

Picking up the brush off her dresser, she looked back at the almost non-existent reflection.  With a sigh, she brushed her hair out.  She debated putting it up into a ponytail but thought better of it.  Finally she set down the brush and went to pick up her cross necklace that her mother had been fighting her about wearing so long ago.

The silver metal, normally to soft and cool to the touch, seemed to glare angrily at her.  The metal seemed to scorch as she attempted to pick it up, causing her to quickly drop it back to the dresser.  A small tear welled in her eye; then a question flooded her mind, 'What will Nici and Mari think if I'm not wearing it? They know I **always** wear it…'

Her thoughts were disrupted when there was a knock on the door, "Akane, are you ready yet? Its getting late…"

She glanced at the door then back at her necklace, "Just a minute!" She quickly, yet carefully, picked the necklace up by the black leather cord and stuffed it in her skirt pocket.  She then walked over and opened the door to see Omi standing there with her book bag.

"If you hurry, you can still grab some breakfast before school." He smiled and handed her the bag.

"Ok…" Her eyes betrayed the nervousness she felt.

He patted her reassuringly on the shoulder, but said nothing concerning what he knew she was nervous about.  "I need to finish getting ready for work, then I'll drop you off at school…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Nici and Mari sat under the big tree studying for the math exam as they waited for Akane to arrive…or the school bell to ring, whichever came first.  Nici looked up from the book, "I'm worried about her, Mari…it's not right…she shouldn't be living with a bunch of men like that…by herself…"

Mari glanced up, a bit annoyed at Nici changing the subject from studying, "Hai…I know…that's why I think she should get her own apartment…"

"Oh … look… there she is!" Nici reached up and waved as Omi's car pulled into the school drive way and stopped long enough to let Akane out.  "Akane!!! Over here!!!"  Akane hefted her book bag onto her shoulder, waved as Omi pulled off then waved at Nici and Mari as she walked over to them.  "Ew…what **is** she wearing? A turtleneck at this time of year?"

"Hmm…" Mari narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Hey guys... studying for the test?"  Akane plopped her book bag down and sat beside them.

"Yeah…" Nici looked down at the book then looked back at Akane, "What's with the turtleneck? It's almost 

summer!"

"Nici!" Mari scolded.

Akane blinked and glanced down at her covered wrists.  "It's…ok…"  She looked up to see them looking at her worriedly.

"Akane…what…happened? Something obviously is wrong.  Did one of those men attack you?" Mari's voice dripped with concern.

"Iie…iie…" she bit her lip and looked down again, then slowly pushed back a sleeve to show the gauze.  Carefully she peeled back the guaze.

Nici's eyes widened, "Akane! What happened? You drop something in the kitchen?"

Mari promptly poked Nici in the ribs for her blatant display of 'blondeness'.  She looked back at Akane, her eyes questioning, "You…tried…to…"  Her voice seemed choked just by the thought.

Akane nodded, "Hai…" she looked down and covered her wrists again, "Omi-kun stopped me…"

Before more could be said though, the bell rang and they went to class.

_in_ my field of paper flowers  
and candy clouds of lullaby  
i lie inside myself for hours  
and watch my purple sky fly over me  
  
__

Despite many protests, Akane went with Nici and Mari after school to the ice cream shoppe a few blocks away.  The two friends thought perhaps ice cream would cheer up their obviously depressed friend.

"I'd like a double scoop of Moose Tracks in a sugar cone please!" Nici enthusiastically told the attendant.

Mari and Akane giggled at her, "What do you want Akane?" Mari asked questioningly.

"Umm…" she eyed the list of flavors, "Can I have a scoop of strawberry in a sugar cone?"

Mari blinked at her, startled that she didn't want Moose Tracks or Mint Chocolate Chip. "Um…sure…" She ordered what Akane wanted then ordered herself a scoop of Moose Tracks as well.

The girls got their ice cream and walked down the sidewalk towards the park.  Nici looked up at her… "Akane…where is your cross?"

Akane blinked, "I knew I forgot something!" She laughed, "I was a bit…rushed this morning…"

The two nodded at her, understanding how she wouldn't be feeling well after last night. 

After the ice cream was finished, the girls parted ways, each headed towards their own homes.

Akane walked in to hear Ken yelling.  She dropped off her book bag and peeked around the corner to see who he was yelling at.  It was Crawford.  Nagi and Youji were standing off to the side, watching the argument.  Akane sighed, it was a usual occurrence actually.  Ken arguing with the plans that Crawford came up with.  Of course, she never knew what exactly they were talking about.  

Ken stopped yelling and all four looked at her.  She blinked and looked up at Schuldig who was behind her.  "Umm…hi…"

Ken huffed lightly and stalked off to his room, slamming the door.  Youji shook his head and turned around, sliding down into the couch and turning on the television.  Crawford pushed up his glasses and walked off to his office, Nagi close on his heels.  "How was school?" Schuldig asked her.

"Fine…I think I actually passed the math test…" She fidgeted slightly, rubbing at one of her wrists.

Schuldig nodded and eyed the motion.  "How are you feeling?" _Why did you do it?_

She blinked at him then turned and climbed up on a stool at the breakfast bar.  "I'm fine…" _…being…like this…is hard to handle…_

With a nod, he walked around to the other side of the breakfast bar and pour two glasses of milk, handing one to her, then pulled out the cookie jar and set it between them. _I'll help you if you want…_

She sipped the milk and pulled out a cookie, dunking it in the milk then munching on it.  _Do I have much of a choice?_

Schuldig frowned as he lost hold of his cookie and it fell to the bottom of the glass.  _Well…yes…you could do it on your own and risk loosing what is left of your sanity.  He looked back up at her with more seriousness in his eyes than she had ever seen before._

_Alright…but later._  She finished her cookies and milk, then hopped down, picking up her school bag.  "I'm going to go work on my homework now…"

Schuldig nodded to her, Youji just waved a hand as he was paying attention to the news reports on television.

_don't_ say i'm out of touch  
with this rampant chaos - your reality  
i know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge   
the nightmare i built my own world to escape__

_  
_The phone rang at ten that night and Akane had to scramble for it, as no one else was in the house.

"Akane?"  Mari's voice questioned.

"Hi Mari…" Akane shifted back into her chair.

"Where are the others?"  

"Gone…like normal." She eyed the chemistry homework in front of her.

"Ah…I wonder where they go at night."

"Probably clubbing or something." 

Mari giggled slightly, "Probably…but what about Omi-kun? Isn't he normally home at night?"

"Hai…but apparently there was an emergency meeting at his work, so he had to stay late."  She wrote down something with her pencil, then erased it.

"Akane…"  Mari's voice trembled slightly.

Akane blinked, just now hearing the oddness in her voice.  "What's wrong Mari? Are you ok?"

"C..can I come over?"

"Sure…are you ok? What's wrong…?"  Akane shut the book and walked out to the living room.

"I..I'll tell you when I get there…" The phone clicked off suddenly.

Akane blinked and glanced down at the phone.  With a frown she turned it off and walked to the door, waiting for Mari.  A few minutes later Mari knocked and Akane opened the door, her eyes immediately widened, quickly shutting the door behind Mari.  "Wh..what happened?"

Blood was splattered all over the raven haired girl, her clothes torn.  "Akane!!!" Mari clung to her friend. 

She winced slightly at the smell of the blood, but wrapped her arms around her friend, holding her close.  "Shh…it's ok…it's ok…you're safe."  She rocked her friend.  After a few minutes Mari seemed to have calmed down.  "Why don't we get you a clean change of clothes…ok?" 

Mari nodded and the two got up.  Akane directed Mari to the bathroom then walked to her own room, grabbing some clothes she thought would fit her friend.  With a light knock on the bathroom door, she passed in the change of clothes.  

Akane went up to the kitchen and put some water on to boil.  A few minutes later Mari walked up, visibly shaken, but looking a good bit better out of the blood stained clothing.  She smiled gently at her friend then poured the boiling water into some mugs and handed one to her, "Green tea…it will help you relax."

Mari nodded and accepted the mug.  They sat down at the couch and turned on the television, turning it on to some old romantic movie and sat in silence.

_in_ my field of paper flowers  
and candy clouds of lullaby  
i lie inside myself for hours  
and watch my purple sky fly over me  
  
__

Several hours past and the movie ended.  Akane looked at her friend.  "You can sleep in my room tonight if you want Mari."

Mari smiled, "I really appreciate it, Akane…"

The front door opened, "Sounds like the guys are home…" Akane looked over, slightly shocked by their state.  They, like Mari, came in with blood drenched on them.  She heard them grumbling.  "Come on…let's…"

Aya looked over at Akane and Mari, his eyes narrowed, pulling his katana.  "Get away from her now!"

Immediately the others turned and pulled out weapons.  Akane blinked, confused and looked back at Mari. "What's…going on??"

Mari whimpered softly and slid behind Akane.  "Don't…let them…hurt me…Akane…"

Akane blinked at her friend then looked back at the others who were advancing on them.  "Akane…" Ken spoke slowly, "Step…away from her, slowly…" 

"Wh...what? Why? What's going on?" Akane began to understand now why Mari had been so panicked.

Crawford pointed his gun at Mari, "Thought you could get away, eh?"

Mari squeaked lightly, then her eyes flickered dark red and she quickly put a choke hold on Akane. "You'll have to kill her to get to me."

Akane's eyes widened and she gripped at Mari's arm, trying to pull her off, "M..mari…what…are you doing?"

Mari wasn't paying attention to Akane as she used her 'friend' for a shield from the others.  "You…hunters…won't take me…"

Realization set over Akane's features...she was living with vampire hunters.  Panic increased and she squirmed, fighting the hold Mari had on her.  "Lemme go…"  The grip seemed to tighten around her neck and she gasped for air.  In desperation, she started clawing and kicking, not paying attention to the men who were attempting to surround the two girls.  She was barely paying attention to the fact that Mari was dragging her towards the balcony window.

"Akane!" Omi had just arrived home as well and he saw what was going on.

Omi's scream was enough to distract Mari as Akane wrenched herself away from the other.  Akane scrambled away and behind the men.  Omi pulled her to him and covered her eyes as the others went in for the attack.

While Akane couldn't see, she could hear the fight.  The sound of flesh being torn, grunts of pain then finally a shriek filled the room…one that she knew could have only come from Mari.  "MARI!!!!" Akane wrenched herself from Omi and looked on in horror as Mari died.  Tears welled in her eyes, her knees going weak as she collapsed to the floor.  "MARI!!!!"

_swallowed_ up in the sound of my screaming  
cannot cease for the fear of silent nights  
oh how i long for the deep sleep dreaming  
the goddess of imaginary light__

_04/30/03 - By: Akari Kanzaki_

Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
Mistakes of the Past


	4. Taking Over Me

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence - Taking Over me

[Author's note: Nici's parents are divorced, she lives with her father and her brother lives with her mother]__

**_Taking Over Me_**

****

Silence stood proud in his victory, for he had defeated the noise, he had won the war and now he filled the house.  He swirled from one room to the next, meeting his companions … sadness and despondence.  Together, the trio ruled the house.  

Slowly he slunk into the room of the sixteen year old girl.  She lay on the bed, her back to the door as she stared blankly at the wall, tears silently sliding down her face.

Omi walked into the room and silence was quickly banished from the vicinity.  "Akane…"  She curled up and attempted to ignore him.  "Akane…please…"

She glanced over her shoulder at him, _Close the door…_

He blinked at her, and with a nod he complied.  "I'm sorry about your friend Akane…but she had gone over the edge…" She watched him, tears still streaming down her face.  "She would have hurt too many innocent people…"

Akane sighed and rolled over to look at him.  "I…I just don't understand Omi-kun…how can we be here with…with…them?" Her hand gesture swept the room, but he knew she was referring to the other members of the household.

With a sigh, he walked over and sat down beside her, "They only hunt vampires who have gone over the edge…those who've lost all of their humanity and goodness."  Her baffled look prodded him to continue.  "Those who haven't lost all of their goodness…still have reflections" He pointed to the mirror.  "As you lose your humanity, you lose your reflection…"  She nodded slightly, starting to understand.  "Also…they…don't know about us…"

She blinked, "What about Schuldig?"

He glanced at the door, "He…may know…but he hasn't told the others if he does…"

"Or maybe they know and are just watching to see if we lose our humanity?" She queried.

"Perhaps…"  He look at her then pulled her into a hug, whispering, "Akane…be careful…to never lose yourself in what we are…"

_you_ don't remember me but i remember you  
i lie awake and try so hard not to think of you  
  
__

School was awkward the next day without Mari.  Akane and Nici sat in silence at lunch, neither feeling much like talking.  Finally Nici spoke, her voice shaky, "I…I'm scared Akane…first Crissy…now Mari…" She looked up at Akane, "What are we going to do??"

Akane laid her sandwich down, staring at her feet, "We're…going to press on…that's all we **can** do…"  Nici nodded and the two resumed eating their lunch.

Omi was waiting in the car for Akane after school.  "Nici…" Akane turned to her friend, "Would you like…us to drive you home? So you don't have to walk by yourself?"

Nici looked at Akane with big puppy-dogish eyes.  "Oh! Akane! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!!!!"  

Akane blinked and attempted to peel off her friend who was now clinging to her.  "Its…no biggy, Nici…come on…"  They walked over, "Omi-kun, is it ok if we give Nici a ride home?"  Omi nodded and the two climbed into the car.

Fifteen minutes later they dropped Nici off at her home.  A tall brunette man was standing at the door, seeming to glare at Nici as Nici climbed out of the car. "Ah…dad!  Akane and Omi-san drove me home!"  Both waved at Nici's father.

Her father seemed unimpressed.  "Nici! Get in this house now! You have chores to do!"

Nici blinked, "Yes, papa!"  She looked back at the two apologetically and bowed, "Gomen nasai…I'll see you at school tomorrow, Akane."

"Hai…have a good night, Nici."  Akane smiled at her friend.

"Nici! I said NOW!" the man seemed to scream.  Nici jumped and ran inside, her father glared at Omi and Akane before shutting the door.

"Ahh…Omi-kun…that was a bit…odd…" Akane bit her lip, looking from the door to him.

Still staring at the door, Omi nodded.  "Hai…a bit too odd."  He turned and started driving off.  "Akane…I'd like you to keep an eye on Nici…her actions, etc.  The way her father was acting worries me.  It could be Nici is fine, but her parents aren't.  If that's so…we should try to get Nici out of there before something happens."

Akane frowned, "You think it's that serious?"

"Hai…I do…"  Omi glanced both ways, then pulled out onto the road.

_but_ who can decide what they dream?  
and dream i do...__

"MARI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" the scream rang throughout the hallway and rooms, waking the other members of the household.

Ken was the first to Akane's room, slamming the door open and going over to the figure sitting up in bed, shaking.  "Akane! Akane! Wake up!!"

"Iie…iie…MARI!!!! IIE!!!!!"  Akane's body was shaking and sweat was dripping off of her.

Omi hurried around to the other side of the bed from Ken.  He placed a hand on her shoulder, but she instinctively flinched away from the touch.  "Akane…it's ok…you're safe…"  Ken reached out to grab her, to keep her from falling on the floor, but she flinched away from that.  Suddenly she backed all the way up to curl in the corner.  

Schuldig walked in, looking quite displeased from being woken up.  Behind him, other members of the house stood behind him.  "She's still asleep…"  Omi and Ken glanced at Schuldig then back at Akane, whose eyes were wide open.  "Trust me, she's still asleep…"  He walked over and look at her, seeming to focus on something.  

A moment later, Akane started to topple forward.  Omi reached out and caught her, "What…did you do?"  

"I put a block around the nightmare…she's still asleep though."  Schuldig yawned and walked out of the room.  "I'm going back to bed…"

Omi frowned and glanced at Ken who just shrugged.  Together they moved Akane back to her bed and then walked out.  "Omi…I don't think its safe for her to stay here." Ken said once they were safely outside.

"And it's safe for her to stay in some apartment by herself?"  Omi glared mildly at Ken.  "She has no where to go Ken, and you know as well as I do that a girl out on her own won't survive in this world of ours.  She'll be someone's dinner before nightfall!"

Ken glanced at the door then back at him, "You're right…it's just…"

Schuldig looked out of his door and down the hall at them. "Go. To. Bed!"  The two blinked at Schuldig, then quietly nodded and scurried off to their own rooms.

_i__ believe in you  
i'll give up everything just to find you  
  
_

For most members of the house the morning came too early, yet it came none the less.  Yet, this morning Akane was up before the rest of them.  She had even cooked breakfast.  Omi walked in and looked around, then looked at her.  "Akane…how did you sleep last night?"

She turned around to face him, a bright smile on her face, "It was fine. How did you rest?"

"Good enough…" He climbed up onto a bar stool and got a plate full of food.

Akane nodded and washes her hands off. "I'm…gonna walk to school today…" she walked over and picked up her book bag.  "See you this evening."  Mouth full of food, Omi couldn't protest as she quickly walked out the door.

"She has a mind and life of her own, Omi…you can't protect her forever…"

Omi swallowed his food and looked back at Crawford, "Yeah…but…"

Crawford just shook his head and picked up a piece of toast, walking over to turn on the television.

"Newsflash!  Three bodies were discovered in the early morning hours at the Osaki residence, each had been completely drained of blood.  Authorities believe the attack to be related to the vampire crisis and fear this is just the beginning…"

Omi watched the television, his eyes widening at the scene…"I…know that house…"

Crawford turned to look at Omi, "How?"

"That's Akane's friend's house…Nici is her name I believe…" Omi turned and glances back at the door Akane had just left out of moments ago…worry settling in.

_i__ have to be with you to live to breathe  
you're taking over me_

Akane made it to school with time to spare.  "Nici!!"  She hurried over to the tree where her friend was standing.  "Hey…ready to study for the test in…Nici? What's wrong?"  Tears started flowing down the blonde's face.  Akane instinctively dropped her books and pulled her friend into a hug.  "What is it? You can tell me…"

Nici sniffled and pulled away, sitting down on the ground.  Akane followed suit and looked at her friend.  "Well…mama and Nicholas came by last night…"  She wiped away some of the tears.  "You know, for that weekly 'family' dinner thing…"  Akane nodded, recalling Nici mentioning it before.  Nici looked up at her friend, "They're…they're…they're all … dead…Akane! They're all dead!!!!!"

Akane's eyes widened and she pulled her friend back into a hug.  "What…happened??"

Nici squirmed and pulled away.  "They…started fighting…Mom and Nicholas started yelling at Dad…I…just…ran…I ran away…I hid…" She sobbed for awhile and Akane attempted to comfort her distraught friend. "a..after…a few hours... I came out…and they…they…were…lying on the ground…"

"Shh…shh…it's ok…it's ok…"  Akane pulled her sobbing friend back into a hug and rocked her gently.  "It's going to be alright…"

A car pulled up nearby, but the two didn't notice.  A man climbed out and walked towards them, they still didn't hear as Nici continued to sob and Akane continued to comfort.  He knelt down beside them and Akane looked at him, she started to speak, but he motioned for her to be quiet as he placed a hand on Nici's back, "Osaki Nici?"

Nici sat up with a jolt, frightened beyond her wits…she looked at the man, "O..Omi-san…"

"Nici…I need you to come with me to the police station, ok?"  He was keeping his voice level and in a more professional tone than either of the girls were used to.

She looked between Akane and Omi nervously. "O..only if Akane can come with me…I…don't want to be…alone…"

Omi nodded and helped the two girls up.  "I'll get our stuff…you go on to the car."  Akane attempted a comforting smile for Nici.  The blonde nodded and slowly followed Omi to the car.  Akane quickly picked up the books then followed them to the car.  Nici laid down in the back seat, so Akane sat in the passengers seat next to Omi.  Akane looked at Omi questioningly, _What…__is going on? Is she in trouble?_

He glanced back at her and shook his head, his expression telling her that they weren't going to discuss it right now.

_have_ you forgotten all i know  
and all we had?  
  
__

Sitting quietly in the police headquarters waiting room, Akane flipped through her chemistry book.  Nici was in one of those rooms with the one way window, being questioned by some detective.  Akane closed her eyes tightly, trying to block out the sounds, spilling tears down across her cheeks.  A hand reached out and dried the tears.  She looked up at Omi who looked back with sadness in his eyes.

"Akane…" He sat down next to her, "She's most likely going to have to stay here awhile…"

"She…she didn't kill them!" Akane blinked back more tears.

He sighed, "Maybe not…but she has to stay none the less."

The tears she had been holding back streamed down her face one more as if a dam had been broken.  He didn't even attempt to dry her tears this time, as they were flowing too much to make a difference.  Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and let her cry on his shoulder.

_you_ saw me mourning my love for you  
and touched my hand  
i knew you loved me then  
  
__

"IIE! She couldn't have!" Fortunately the house was empty except for the two occupants in the living room.  Akane sat on the couch in shock as Omi attempted to tell her what was going on with Nici.

"Apparently…she has split personalities…one being normal…the other being a vampire.  When her family started fighting, she was frightened and her normal personality hid.  To defend herself, her vampire half came out and attacked the family…I'm…so sorry Akane…"  He looked at her sadly as she started crying again.

"Iie…what is going to happen to her?"  She tried to dry the tears that refused to stop.

"Confinement for now…they'll decide later based upon how she acts…"

Akane looked away at the window, when she looked back her face was questioning, "What…will happen to us?  What is going to happen to me?  What…what if I can't control it?  I…"

He placed a finger to her lips, "Shhh…" Moving his hand to run it through her hair, "Everything is going to be fine…Just as Schuldig is helping you to learn to control your telepathy…I will help you control yourself…"

_i__ believe in you  
i'll give up everything just to find you  
i have to be with you to live to breathe  
you're taking over me  
  
_

Hours later Akane walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind herself.  She looked around the tile floor and walls, the blood from weeks ago long since cleaned up.  She sighed slightly and looked up at the mirror.  Her reflection was still there, not completely solid, but as solid as it had been since _that_ night.  And that was enough to ease some of her tension, a slight smile coming to her face.

_i__ look in the mirror and see your face  
if i look deep enough  
so many things inside that are just like you are taking over_

_05/01/03 - By: Akari Kanzaki_

Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
Mistakes of the Past


	5. Whisper

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence - Whisper

**_Whisper_**

The months seemed to fly by as Akane moved on up to the next level in school.  Soon she would be graduating and she wondered what she should do upon graduation. College? Should she really attempt that? Would it be wise to so something like that? Get a job? Where? What type of job?

Of course, Akane wasn't the only student thinking of these questions.  Every other student around the world who was getting ready to graduate was thinking the same things.  However, everyone also had the question looming over them, "Will I live to even see graduation? And if I do…is there a point to life in a world such as this?"  But Akane saw no point in thinking that.  She already knew she was lucky to be in the world still.  The scars on her wrists a constant reminder of the actions she had taken that had almost cost her life.

Going to school was frightfully boring though…all of her friends were gone now it seemed.  Her class which had started at 542 students, was down more than half, only 239 students were left.

At lunch, she went out to the tree that she and her friends used to sit under.  She eyed her lunch with distaste.  With everything that had happened the past year, it was easy to slip into depression.  And oh, how she wanted to do that.

"Akane!!"

Akane jerked around to see who was calling her name, "Nani?"  She blinked and looked up at a girl and two boys that she vaguely recalled being in her class.  The girl had short cropped black hair and was about as tall as Akane.  One of the boys had naturally black hair, but had bleached and dyed it bright red, and he wore what appeared to be blue contacts.   He was a bit taller than the girl.  The other boy, taller than the other two, had blonde hair and wore wire rimmed glasses.  All three were quite lanky and were known to be rather strong as well.  They were the 'bullies' of the school…and they forced people to 'pay' for protection…whether from vampires or themselves was still yet to be determined.

"Stand up."  The girl demanded.

Akane glanced down and moved the food in her lap back into the bag she had brought it in and set it aside, then slowly stood up to look at them.

_catch me as i fall  
say you're here and it's all over now  
  
_

"What do you want?" She asked them.

They three seemed to smirk at her.  The girl motioned to the blonde boy, "Gotan reminded me that we hadn't come to you to collect payment for your protection."

Akane glanced between the three.  "I'm sorry…I didn't know I was being protected…and I'm afraid I don't need your type of protection."

"Why you…" The red haired boy seemed ready to pummel Akane into the ground, but the girl held him back.

She glanced at him, then at the girl.  The girl's eyes narrowed and seemed to glow, "If you know what's good for you…you'd better pay up."

"Really, now…" Akane knelt down and started picking up her things, "I really don't think you understand…I don't want your protection."

The girl took a step back, startled that Akane didn't even flinch when she threatened her. "And why's that?"

With her books in her arms and holding her lunch bag, Akane looked back up at them, "My reasons are my own.  I have no need to tell you.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to be late for class."  Akane turned and headed towards the building.

The girl hissed lightly, obviously enraged.  With an evil grin she motioned to the two boys, "Gotan…Taka…show her why she needs our protection."

The two boys smirked and lunged at Akane.  She let out a small gasps as she was hit from behind, her books flying out from her grasp.  Immediate she tucked and rolled, coming back up facing her two assailants, ready to defend herself.

_speaking to the atmosphere  
no one's here and i fall into myself  
  
_

"Hehe…think you can actually fight us off?"  Taka smirked and Akane could see a knife in his hand as he lunged at her again.  

Mentally Akane thanked Ken for insisting that she train enough with them to at least learn some self defense.  Of course, she had never thought she would need to use it at school.  She stepped up as her attacker ran towards her and crouched down slightly.  As he waved his knife, trying to cut her, she gripped the arm and used his own momentum to flip him over.

"Gahhh!!!!!" Taka slid across the ground, hitting the nearby fence.

Gotan narrowed his eyes and rushed at Akane faster than she had expected, kicking her in the stomach.  Akane gasped in pain and twisted, attempted to get a hit in on him as he continued to attack her.  She could hear the other girl laughing…almost evilly…in the background. 

Akane hit the ground hard and coughed up a bit of blood, waiting any second for the next hit to come.  Gotan pulled back, ready to hit again when he found he couldn't swing his arm forward.  He blinked and looked back…and up.  His eyes widened.

"What is going on here?"  Green eyes seemed to pierce as Gotan squirmed slightly.

"Ahh….Kyla-sensei…." Gotan stuttered.

Taka had risen and was standing behind the girl, following her as she walked up next to the 6'1" teacher.  "Gaijin…" She muttered spitefully under her breath.  "Kyla-sensei…Gotan-kun was just…showing Akane-chan some attack techniques and teaching her defense methods."

Akane looked up at the girl with a sharp glare.  The teacher eyed the girl and her 'flunkies' then let Gotan's arm go.  "I don't want to see you all harassing any more students.  Do you understand?"

The three nodded slightly, "Understood, sensei…" and quickly dispersed.

He turned and offered a hand to Akane, helping her up.  She winced from some of the blows she had taken.  "Thank you, Kyla-sensei…" She bowed slightly to him.

_this truth drives me into madness  
i know i can stop the pain if i will it all away  
  
_

"Let's get you to the nursing station and have those cuts looked at."  He waited till she started walking before following her.  "Where are you going?"

She glanced over her shoulder at him, but didn't respond as she walked over and picked up her books that had been forgotten during the fray.  "I'll be fine, sensei…You…should go to your class before your students start wondering where you are."

He frowned slightly and nodded, "Only if you are sure you will be ok."

She smiled cheerfully at him, "Hai! I'll be fine, Kyla-sensei!"

"Alright then…" He nodded and turned, heading back inside the building.

Akane watched as he walked back into the building and waited till the door clicked shut before collapsing back down to her knees, her body wracked with sobs. 

_don't turn away  
don't give in to the pain  
don't try to hide  
though they're screaming your name_

She slowly dried her eyes and stood up; the pain was mostly gone now.  Holding her books in her arms, she turned to leave.  There was no point in going back to class now, so it was time to just go on home.  

With her eyes virtually glued to the ground, she trudges her way home.  Fumbling for her keys, she unlocked the door and went inside, closing and locking the door behind her.  With her eyes still turned downward, she headed straight for her room and closed her door.

"School doesn't normally get out for three more hours…right?" Youji looked over and asked Nagi.

Nagi blinked, looking away from the hallway and back down at the kitchen counter where the drink he was pouring have overfilled and spilled.  In annoyance he started cleaning it up.  "Hai…I wonder why she's home so early…"

Youji blinked at the counter then glanced back down the hallway, "Looked like she was in a fight…did you see the dirt and tears in her clothes?"

"Hai…I hope she's ok…"

_don't close your eyes  
God knows what lies behind them  
don't turn out the light  
never sleep never die_

There was a soft knock on Akane's door about nine that evening.  She was sitting at her desk, attempting to cover the work she missed in school "Come…"  Before she could finish the door opened.

Omi walked in and stood beside the desk, "Akane…what happened at school today? Are you ok?" 

She had immediately changed into fresh clothes when she had gotten home, and almost all of the bruises were gone by now.  "I…I don't know what you are talking about, Omi-kun?"  She focused on the book in front of her so she didn't have to look at him.

"Akane…" He reached out and lightly gripped her chin, lifting her head up so he could look into her eyes.

She averted her eyes.  "Nothing happened…"

"If that is so, why won't you look at me?"  He watched her worriedly.

She looked back at him, "…There was a fight at school…that's all…"

"Were you in the fight?"  

"Yes…"

"Did you start it?"

"No…"

"Were you hurt?"

"Yes…but I'm ok now…Kyla-sensei stopped the fight…"

He frowned slightly, "Kyla…"

"Do you know Kyla-sensei?"  She blinked, looking at him questioningly and confused at his reaction to the name.

"Hai…I know him."  He rubbed her shoulder lightly.  "…but as long as you are ok…"  

"Hai…I'm fine, Omi-kun…"

"Good…" He turned to walk out then paused, "How about taking a break from studying, and come with me to get some ice cream from the shop down the street?"

He blinked as he heard a book slam shut.  She popped up out of her chair, "Sure!!!"

He laughed at her reaction.  "Alright, let's go…"

They walked down to the shop and ordered two vanilla ice creams.  In silence, they walked along the sidewalk eating their ice cream.  "There aren't…many people out at night, eh?"

He glanced at her, "No…there aren't…mainly police…and vampires…and the few people who are unfortunate enough not to get home before dark…" He smiled at her slightly, "But don't worry, we're safe."

She smiled back, "I wasn't worried…too much…"  

Their path took them to the central park for their area; as they rounded the corner though the paused in their tracks.  The sight before them was horrid, bodies were strewn everywhere, and about thirty feet away from them, a fight still raged on.

Omi reached out and placed a hand on Akane's shoulder, "Akane…back away…slowly…"

"H..h..hai…" She did as she was told…

_i'm frightened by what i see  
but somehow i know that there's much more to come  
  
_

Two of the fighters seemed to be drawn by the presence of more people and their fight seemed to move towards Akane and Omi.  Instinctively, Omi moved in front of Akane, pulling out some darts.  "Stay behind me." He told her.  She could only nod.

The two drawing near continued to fight, but one suddenly hit the ground and seemed to disintegrate into dust.  Akane meeped softly and looked up at the victor.

His eyes seemed to be the color of flames as he looked at them.  His white hair was long and wild, flowing all around him.  Ignoring Akane, he seemed to be sizing up Omi who was standing defensively in front of her.

"SHI---NE!!!!" he shouted, suddenly rushing at Omi.

"Shimatta!!!" Omi pushed Akane off to the side and blocked the attack.

Akane's eyes widened in horror as she watched; but to go and help Omi, or even to run for help, seemed impossible for her as her body refused to obey her commands.  Tears streamed down her face as she watched on.

_immobilized by my fear  
and soon to be blinded by tears  
i can stop the pain if i will it all away  
  
_

In the distance, others were still engaging in fights.  She slowly turned her head to look at them, _Maybe…someone…can help… Slowly she pulled herself up, forcing her body to move even though it didn't want to.  The way her body was behaving was almost as if she was mortally wounded, yet she forced herself over in the direction of the other fights._

_don't turn away  
don't give in to the pain  
  
_

"Help…someone…" She croaked, her voice strained from fear.   "Please…"

Another set of two was fighting and she watched on, frightened, but hoped that whoever won, would be willing to help Omi.  Finally one did win and he looked up at her with crystal clear blue eyes.  Even in the darkness, he was able to see the tears staining her face.  _Surely he'll help me…_

He smirked, "Why should I help you?"

She blinked and looked back at Omi and the person who attacked him.  "Please…help him…"

He laughed at her, causing her to snap her head around to look at him, "You have no clue, do you…?"  She blinked and slowly shook her head, unsure of what he was talking about.  Laughing harder, he rushed at her.

She shrieked in fear and attempted to dodge.  Omi, hearing the shriek glanced over and yelled at her, "AKANE!!!!!!!!!!!! RUN!!!!!!!"

_don't try to hide  
though they're screaming your name  
  
_

Akane closed her eyes and winced as a blow landed… Her eyes snapped open as the instinct for survival kicked in and she responded back with harsh kick to the man's head.

_don't close your eyes  
God knows what lies behind them  
don't turn out the light  
never sleep never die_

The man staggered, shook his head and looked at her, "Why you little wench….you'll pay for that." He rushed at her again.

This time she didn't close her eyes, as she crouched down in a defensive position.  She lashed out at his legs, flipping him over.  Quickly she moved away, waiting for him to rush again.  He stood up and looked at her.  "You have an unusual fighting style, woman…you had a chance to kill me…" he wiped some blood from the corner of his mouth as he stalked towards her.  "You won't…survive in this world…" He lunged and tackled her to the ground.

"IIE!!!!" She squirmed and kicked at him, attempted to get him off.  He continued to attack her, and it seemed there was nothing she was going to be able to do to get him off.  Out of the corner of her eye, she could see other men walking up and watching.  Apparently they were on the same side as that man, as they weren't willing to help her.

A sharp sound of material ripping made her freeze.  Fright filled her eyes as she looked up at him.  His eyes were glowing bright blue and an evil smirk was on his face.

"IIE!!!!" She screamed.  Her eyes started to glow as well, but they were glowing amber.  Suddenly an amber tinted shockwave seemed to emanate from her body, pushing the man off of her.

"What the…" he staggered back into some of his comrades.  Slowly they moved towards her as she slowly stood up, her whole body seeming to be glowing.  Smirking, the men rushed her, going in for the kill.

_fallen angels at my feet  
whispered voices at my ear  
death before my eyes  
lying next to me i fear  
she beckons me shall i give in  
upon my end shall i begin  
forsaking all i've fallen for i rise to meet the end_

"Akane…Akane…" Omi gently shook her shoulder, trying to bring her back to reality.

She stood in a daze, with a moan, she slowly looked over at him.  The glow faded from her eyes.  "Omi-kun!!!" she cried as she collapsed into his arm.  Omi wrapped his arms around her comfortingly as she continued to sob.  Slowly he guided her out of the park, leaving behind the remains of the fight.

05/05/03 - By: Akari Kanzaki

Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
Mistakes of the Past


	6. The Man Without Fear

Song: Drowning Pool – The Man Without Fear (I couldn't find complete lyrics…so you'll just have to locate the song and listen to it to understand…sorry)_  
  
_

**_The Man Without Fear_**

****

He stood and angrily looked down at his hand, flexing it and curling it, causing joints to pop.  Three other men around him looked at each other nervously.  He looked up slowly at the others, his fire like eyes burning with anger.  "Find her…and bring her to me!" He yelled suddenly at them, his wild white hair flying out behind him as he spun and walked into his private room and slammed the door.

Two of the men glanced at each other, and then looked over at the third.  His eyes glowed bright blue, a smirk crawling its way across his face.  "Well, we better not let Jei down, now should we?"  In response the other two smirked as well.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ken glanced over at Nagi, "What time is it?"

Nagi narrowed his eyes at Ken, "Five minutes since the last time you asked."

The other blinked at him, "Are you sure? It feels like it's been longer than that."

"Why are you so impatient for Akane to get here? We can train just as well without her."  To prove his point, Nagi sent Ken flying backwards into a wall.

"Gahhh!!!  Nagi!  No powers! You promised!!!" Ken shook his head and stood up slowly.  "And it's just…she's never late for practice…and when she and Omi came home last night, she didn't seem to be ok."

Nagi straightened up and glanced at the exit to the training room, "That is true.  She almost seemed…in shock.  Did Omi tell you anything of what happened to them?"

Ken walked back towards Nagi. "No…he didn't.  He said he was tired and just wanted to go to bed."  He attempted to catch Nagi off guard and flip him, but Nagi noticed and spun out of his way, letting Ken fall into the opposite wall with a grunt.  Ken sat up stiffly and rubbed the top of his head as he turned to see Nagi walking towards the exit.  "Where are you going?"

"To check on them." Nagi looked back at Ken, "At breakfast, Crawford informed me that there had been a clan fight in the park last night."

Ken blinked and stood up, jogging over, "Do you think they ran into that?"

"Possibly…"  Nagi walked out with Ken following right behind.  To their surprise, Schuldig and Youji were waiting in the hallway.

"Took you two long enough…" Schuldig grumbled.

Ken blinked, baffled.  "Have you talked to Omi yet?" Nagi asked.

Youji shook his head, "Nope…he's still asleep.  Whatever happened, he's really drained."

"Then we should check on Akane." Nagi responded, walking down the hallway to her room, the other three following right behind.  Nagi knocked on the door lightly and waited.  With no response he looked back at Schuldig questioningly.

The telepath shrugged, "I haven't been able to contact her, she has her mental blocks up…had them up ever since she got home."

With a frown, Nagi turned back to the door and knocked a second time.  This time with no response, he laid his had on the door knob.  "Akane…we're coming in to check on you."  Ken glanced between Nagi and the other three, obviously nervous about walking into a woman's room like this.  Slowly Nagi twisted the knob and pushed the door open.

The room was dark, "I'm going to turn on the light, Akane…" Nagi warned quietly before flipping the switch.  Ken glanced down the hallway nervously, hoping she was covered.

The light clicked on to reveal her room in shambles.  Books and clothing were strewn all over the place.  Her desk chair was tipped over, blocking the path they would have taken had they walked in in the dark.  Akane sat on her bed, in the same clothes as last night.  She didn't even look up at them, her eyes focused blankly on the bed in front of her.

Upon seeing this, Nagi rushed in, "Akane-chan…" Schuldig and Youji followed right behind him, careful not to trip over to the debris in their path.

Ken glanced over and narrowed his eyes slightly, slowly following the other three in.  "Shock…she's in shock…"

Youji frowned, "How long has she been like this?"

Nagi quickly pulled the blanket off the bed and started wrapping it around her, getting Youji to help.  "Let's take her out to the couch.  Maybe we can get her to eat something."

Ken turned and walked out of the room.  Schuldig glanced at Ken's back then looked at Youji and Nagi, "I'll come help in a minute." He then quickly turned and followed Ken, placing his hand on Ken's shoulder right before the other burst into Omi's room.  "Wait…"

Ken looked up at Schuldig, "We need to know what happened!"

The telepath shook his head, "Not right now.  We'll find out, but pushing Omi for information right now will only make matters worse.  Let's go help the others with Akane and see if we can get her out of shock, ok?"

Ken glared lightly at Schuldig, glancing back at the door for a moment longer.  "Fine…you all deal with her…" He spun and quickly walked away from Schuldig as he walked out of the house.

Youji and Nagi looked at Schuldig curiously as the telepath walked into the living room.  "Very impatient man…"

"Hai!" The other two agreed in unison.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mr. Yakamota, I'm afraid Miss Shiguru isn't in school today." The secretary looked up from her paperwork at the man with absolutely gorgeous blue eyes.  "One of her roommates called in and said she was quite ill."

He bowed his head slightly, "I thank you.  I will contact her another day then."  Quickly he turned, put his coat and hat back on and then walked out of the school building.

Asmadeas Kyla stood around the corner in the school office and frowned as he watched this 'Mr. Yakamota' walk off.  Something felt off to him and he quickly flipped through student files before the secretary caught him.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

  
Mr. 'Yakamota' climbed into a car waiting right outside the school and closed the door.  He took off the hat and leaned back in the seat, glad for the dark tinting on the car windows.  The driver looked over at him, "Yama, did you find anything?"  

Yama looked over at the man with sandy blonde hair and purple eyes, and smirked "Yes…she's out…sick…" 

The driver smirked, "Awww…poor thing…"

The two chuckled a moment then Yama looked ahead, "Let's go get Jiro and see if he's found out anything about Miss Akane Shiguru…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Schuldig, Youji and Nagi looked down at Akane.  They had gotten her to the couch fine and immediately she had curled up on her side, staring blankly ahead at the wall across from her.

"Food?" Youji suggested.

"Television?" Schuldig added.

"Let's try both. Youji, see if you can find something soft or something she can eat easily." Nagi responded as he picked up the television remote and flipped through the channels trying to find something calming.

Youji walked to the kitchen, mumbling about him being the one to find something for her to eat.  Schuldig glared mildly at Youji's back, then promptly followed him to the kitchen to help him figure something out.  

While the two argued about what would be easiest for Akane to eat, Nagi continued to flip through channels.  Finding a nature channel of some sort Nagi sat down on the couch beside her.  His eyes widened as she scooted closer to him in her curled up position.  He looked down at her; she was looking at the television and seemed to be relaxing.  Glad that she seemed to be coming out of shock, he let her put her head in his lap as she continued to watch the television.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Jiro watched as the car pulled up and quickly dashed over, jumping into the back seat.  "Whew…thought you guys would never get here."

Yama turned around to look at him, "What did you find?"

The other frowned and leaned forward, "Apparently Miss Akane Shiguru's family is all dead and she is now living with Officer Mamoru Takatori…and a bunch of Hunters."

The driver, paused at a light, looked back at Jiro, "How…is that possible? Why would Hunters let a vampire live with them?"

Yama looked at the drive, "Maybe they don't know she's a vampire, Kiyoshi.  Let's go visit Miss Shiguru, shall we?" 

"Hai!" Kiyoshi responded as the light changed and he turned the corner.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Youji and Schuldig sat on a second couch as they, along with Nagi, watched Akane eat a bowl of ramen noodles. She blinked at them and mentally inquired of all if they _had to watch her eat.  Instantly they all diverted their eyes back to the television._

"What…is that? A koala?" Youji blinked at the television.

"I'm…not sure…" Nagi responded.

Schuldig blinked and glanced over at the door, "We have guests…" Just that instant the door bell rang and Schuldig stood up and walked to the door, opening it slowly. The other three turned and watched from where they were, Akane only half paying attention as she was still trying to eat the noodles.

Two men stood at the door, "Hello, I'm Mr. Yakamota and this is my associate Mr. Howell.  We're here to talk to Miss Shiguru."

Akane blinked at her name and set the noodles down, turning to watch.  Unfortunately she couldn't see much of the men's features.  Schuldig eyed them, "About?"

"Ahh…about graduation and college options.  It's really important that we speak to her."  He smiled slightly to Schuldig, obviously slightly intimidated by the German.

Schuldig eyed them a moment more before turning to the others.  "Akane…these guys want to speak to you about college.  Do you feel well enough to talk to them?"

She blinked a moment, and then slowly stood up, tightening the blanket around her and waddling over.  Nagi and Youji stood and followed her, standing a few feet away from the door.  "Hai?" She looked at the two men questioningly.  

Mr. Yakamota turned to Mr. Howell who pulled up his briefcase and opened it.  Mr. Yakamota reached in a pulled out something, whipping his hand out quickly.  A second later Schuldig gasped and stumbled backwards.  Another flip of his wrist and Youji and Nagi were doing the same.

Akane's eyes widened as she saw Yama's eyes blow bright blue as he smirked at her.  "IIE!!!"  She backed away from them but the two rushed in an grabbed her.

Suddenly Jiro was thrown backwards.  Yama, holding Akane tightly against him looked up at Nagi and growled, his fangs showing.  Nagi glared back but found he couldn't fight the sedative that had been used on him and collapsed as Yama hauled the struggling Akane to the waiting car.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

She struggled weakly against the ropes tying her to the chair.  Her mouth taped, she nervously eyed the three men in the room with her.  She had no clue where she was because the instant they and gotten her into the car, they sedated her with something.

Yama glanced at the time and scowled, "Where is he?"

Kiyoshi shrugged, "He'll be here…"

Yama smirked slightly walking close to Akane, "He better be…or there might not be anything left…" She attempted to move away from him as he slid his fingers down her face.

Suddenly the door slammed open, "YAMA! Get away from her!!!"  

Yama jumped and quickly moved away, "Hai…gomen nasai Jei-sama…"

Akane's eyes widened as she looked at the man Omi had fought the night before.  His eyes gleamed with evil as he looked at her.  As he walked towards her, tears began to fill her eyes.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Omi woke up and glanced at the time.  "I was more exhausted than I thought."  He rolled out of bed and walked out to the main area where he found the door wide open and the three passed out on the floor.  "What the…."

Just that moment Ken walked up to the door, "What the hell happened!?"

Omi looked up at Ken, "I was hoping you could answer that."

Kneeling down, Ken pulled a Schuldig inside and shut the door behind him.  A small glitter of silver caught his eyes and he pulled out a small dart. "Shit…" He looked up at Omi, "Darts…"

Omi walked over and looked at the dart, frowning, "These…are…Farfarello's clan…"

Ken spun and punched a wall, "I knew we should have taken him down when we had the chance!"

Shaking his head, Omi retrieved the darts from Youji and Nagi.  "Hopefully they will wake up soon…" He looked at Ken.  "I'll go check on Akane…make sure she's ok…"

Ken glanced over his shoulder at Omi, "They had brought her out here to get her to eat…"

Fear instantly settled on Omi's features.  "He has her…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akane screamed in pain as she hit the wall, "iie…stop…"  Her body ached, blood slowly oozing from cuts across her body.

Yama, Jiro and Kiyoshi stood back as they watched their leader attempt to get information from her.  Jei stalked towards her, "Show…me…your power!"

She looked up at him, tears streaking down her face.  "I…can't!!!"

Angered more by her answer, he lashed out, kicking her in the stomach and hauling her to her feet.  "You will show me…or you will die!"  He hissed at her, causing sobs to wrack her body more.

"Uhh…Jei?" Yama spoke up hesitantly.

"WHAT?" Jei spun around and looked at the other, his eyes blazing with anger.  Yama walked up slowly and whispered into Jei's ear.  Jei glanced at Akane, "Is that so…"  Yama nodded and quickly retreated back to where his comrades were standing.  Jei eyed the three, then looked Akane, smirking.  Seeing the smirk, she shook in fear.  "Well…I suppose that could at least be tried…" He flung her over his shoulder, and walked towards the door, "But not with you three around." He sneered at them and walked out.

05/07/03


	7. Fade Out Fade In

Song: Rick Rubin – Fade Out/In (from Daredevil)

**_Fade Out/Fade In_**

Jei hit the wall hard and shook his head, slowly opening his eyes to look at her.  Akane scrambled to the far side of the room, having snatched a sheet off the bed and wrapping it around her.  Her tear filled eyes were glowing bright amber.  He smirked, "So…that is your power…"  She watched him, her eyes twitching around nervously as he stood up and walked towards her.  "It … has great…potential." He paused walking any further as the glow grew and surrounded her body.

"iie…" She whimpered.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ken and Omi watched as Aya and Crawford examined the darts.  Nagi woke up and groaned audibly.  The four looked up at him, "What happened?" Omi blurted out at him.

Nagi rubbed the side of his head, "Two…vampires…showed up…they took Akane…"

Ken grumbled, "We'll we figured that much from those…" he pointed at the darts that Aya and Crawford were looking at "…and the fact she's gone…"  Nagi shot a glare at Ken.  

Flustered, Omi paced, "We have to figure out where they took her!"

Nagi stood up slowly, "I think that can be arranged…"

Glancing up, Crawford nodded, "You put one on her as well?"

"Hai…"

Omi stared between the two.  "Put one of what on her?" Ken asked.

"Transceiver…"  Nagi grinned and headed to his computer.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Akane shook with fear as he walked closer to her, "iie…stay away…" 

He smirked and continued forwards, braced for the impact of the shockwave.  She closed her eyes tightly and the amber glow grew, attempting to push Jei away.  He faltered slightly then pushed through.  Her eyes flew open in horror as he broke through the barrier.  "Interesting…"  He sneered, "Let's see if you have any other powers…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yama, Jiro and Kiyoshi looked up from their card game as they heard a high pitched shriek come from the girl.  The three sat in silence, glancing at each other, none knowing what to say.  After a moment, they went back to the card game.  "I'll see your ten and raise you twenty…"  Jiro said, moving some bills into the pile.

Suddenly Kiyoshi gasped for air, dropping his cards and scratching at his neck.  The other two looked at him and saw a thin wire running back and narrowed their eyes at the man choking Kiyoshi.  Yama jumped up to lunge at him when he found three darts embedded in his chest.

Jiro jumped up and backed up, running into something.  He turned and looked up at the man with dark, shaggy, brown hair.  He yelped suddenly as his feet left the ground.  Three men walked up in front of him.  "Where is she?"  Eyes wide, he shook his head.  Ken raised his bugnuks to Jiro's throat.  Jiro quickly motioned with his head in the direction Jei had taken her.

Omi, Ken, Youji and Nagi turned and walked in the direction that Jiro had motioned.  As they walked out, Aya and Crawford walked in, glaring at the two passed out vampires and the one very shaken vampire.  Crawford nodded to Aya, who quickly dispensed of all three vampires.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Tears silently rolled down Akane's face.  This…wasn't happening…wasn't real…it's just a nightmare…her mind kept repeating over and over.  She didn't even notice when the doors slammed open and Jei turned his attention from her to the four interlopers.

Horror filled Omi's face as they had burst into the room.  The other three ignored it as they immediately went to fighting with Jei.  Slowly Omi walked over to where Akane lay.  He quickly covered her up then checked her vital signs.

Nagi flung Jei back into a wall, Youji attempted to use his wire to restrain him, and Ken attempted to embed a stake into his chest.

"IIE!!!" Jei's eyes widened, his eyes burning with fire. "I will not go down so easily!"  Nagi suddenly collapsed, Youji's wire broke and Jei lunged at Ken who quickly embedded is bugnuks into Jei's abdomen.  Aya and Crawford quickly ran in as the fight continued on.

Omi ignored the fight as he pulled Akane up into his arms.  Tears were streaking down his face as she tearfully curled up into his arms.  He looked up at the others as the fighting suddenly stopped.  He watched as Aya stood up from an attack and looked down at Jei's head on the floor.  Closing his eyes slightly, he stood up slowly, heading out to the vehicle they had come in.  In silence the others followed, understanding all to well what had transpired today.

05/07/03


	8. My Immortal

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: Evanescence – My Immortal

****

**_My Immortal_**

Depression hung heavily in the house of the Hunters, but the activity level hadn't dropped.  Aya frowned and looked over some reports, "Ever since we took down Jei, the fights amongst the clans have escalated."

Crawford nodded and handed him a few more pages.  "It looks like this clan is growing the fastest."

Aya looked at the page, "Violent group…aren't they…"

"Quite…" Crawford pushed up his glasses.  "We're going to have to do something quickly, or the whole nation could be in jeopardy."

Schuldig leaned over the counter to look at the papers.  "And if Japan falls…"  He let his voice trail, not needing to complete the thought.

After a few moments, the silence was broken as Nagi walked into the room.  The three looked up at him, "I think…I may have a way to stop them…"

_my_ immortal__

_i'm__ so tired of being here_

_suppressed_ by all of my childish fears__

Omi sat quietly at his desk at the station.  Papers cluttered his desk and piles were slowly growing.  "Mamoru…"  Omi looked up at the man standing in front of his desk.  "My office … now…"

"Hai…" Omi sighed and rose, quickly following the larger man. 

"Close the door…" the man snipped as he walked around to sit down at his desk.  Omi closed the door and turned to face him, just now noticing the cup of coffee and doughnut that the other man was holding.  "Sit…" Omi complied.  "Mamoru…you've seem a bit preoccupied today…"

"Ah….gomen nasai…" he bowed his head slightly.

"What is going on, Mamoru? This is a very recent thing…is it just now hitting that your partner is gone?"  His boss flipped through some papers.

"Aaah….no sir, its not that…." Omi paused, "It's…just…a good friend of mine…was attacked last night."

The other man looked up at him, "What type of attack? Was it reported?"

"No sir, it was not reported…" he glanced to the side then back at him, "It was a kidnapping and rape…"

The other man blinked.  "Really….you know…it's been years…since a case that simple…has occurred around here…"

"Hai…I know…" he looked down.

"Well…is she ok?"

He looked up at him, "H...hai…well, as well as can be expected…"

"And of the perpetrators?"

"I…would assume dead sir…"  The other man raised an eyebrow.  "Some…Hunters…rescued her, sir."

The other man frowned, "Mamoru, why don't you take the rest of the day off.  Spend some time with your friend…make sure she's ok…"

Omi stood up and bowed, "Thank you sir."

_and_ if you have to leave__

_i__ wish that you would just leave_

Keys rattled and slipped into the lock, causing the bolt to flip.  This immediately drew Youji and Ken's attention from the television as they jumped up and moved cautiously towards the door.  The door opened and Youji began to aim his watch.

Omi walked in and paused, blinking at them.  "Hi…"

Youji dropped his arm and mumbled, walking back to the couch and flopping down.  Ken glanced between Youji and Omi, "What…are you doing home? Don't you have work?"

Omi nodded, "I got…sent home…"

Ken blinked, "Sent…home? YOU? What happened?"

He shrugged and brushed past the older man.  "I'm going to check on Akane…"

Ken shook his head and watched for a moment as Omi walked down the hall, knocked on Akane's door and entered.  With a sigh, he turned and sat back down at the couch, "What I miss?"

_because_ your presence still lingers here__

_and_ it won't leave me alone__

"Akane…" He walked into the darkened room and over to her bed side.  "Akane…" He reached out and brushed his hand across her hair.

She looked up at him, her eyes blood shot and puffy from crying. "Omi-kun…" 

"Shh…" He knelt down beside her, taking her hand into his.  "It's going to be ok.  I promise."  He kissed her lightly on the cheek to comfort her.  "I notified your school that you would be out for awhile."

She nodded slightly and snuggled her head into the pillow with a sigh.

_these_ wounds won't seem to heal__

_this_ pain is just too real__

_there's_ just too much that time cannot erase__

Omi quietly left Akane's room when she had fallen asleep.  He glanced down the hallway where Youji and Ken were still watching television.  He shook his head and walked to his room and sat down on the edge of the bed.  "Oh Akane…" He lowered his head into his hands, his mind racing over the past several months that she had lived with them.

_when_ you cried i'd wipe away all of your tears__

_when_ you'd scream i'd fight away all of your fears__

_and_ i've held your hand through all of these years__

_but_ you still have all of me__

~~~Omi and Ken blinked and looked up as they heard footsteps running down the hall.  "OHAYOO!!!!" Akane called to them cheerfully as she skid to a stop in front of them.  

"Akane! You're sure cheerful today…any reason?"  Ken asked.

She shrugged and pulled out a few pieces of bread, popping them in the toaster.  "I dunno…its just a sunny day…and no school…and no tests to study for…"

Omi chuckled, "Maybe you should go train and work off some of that energy…because I don't think some of these guys around here can handle such a cheerful person bouncing around here!"

Ken glowered at Omi for that remark. "Hai! Actually I'm gonna go meet Crissy and the others and go to the mall today!"~~~

~~~Akane sat curled up on the couch as Omi walked in from work.  He glanced over at her and noticed her face was damp with tears.  He quickly shut the door and dropped his briefcase, going over to her, "Akane…what's wrong?"

She blinked and looked up at him, "Crissy…is…missing…"~~~

~~~"MARI!!!!!!!!!!"  The house seemed to jolt with Akane's scream.

Omi dashed out of his room and ran to Akane's.  Several of the others quickly joined.  "Loud enough to wake the dead…" Schuldig muttered."  

Omi shot Schuldig a glare then went into her room.  "Akane…"  She looked up at him, her body shaking and soaked with sweat.  Tears were coursing down her face as he went to her and hugged her.  "Gomen nasai….gomen nasai…"~~~

_you_ used to captivate me__

_by_ your resonating light__

_but_ now i'm bound by the life you left behind__

_your_ face it haunts my once pleasant dreams__

_your_ voice it chased away all the sanity in me__

Tossing in bed, Omi woke up with a sigh and stared at the ceiling.  He closed his eyes a moment then opened them again to see Schuldig standing over him with a glare.  

"It's only five in the afternoon, what are you doing sleeping?"  Schuldig eyed him with what almost seemed to be concern as he backed off.

Omi sighed and sat up.  "The captain sent me home early."

"Obviously…" Schuldig retorted.

A mild glare at Schuldig got quite a repentant look from the telepath.  "I came home, checked on Akane.  She's…so exhausted…and pained…" He lowered his head, "I…wish there was something…I could do to…"

"There isn't anything you can do." Schuldig responded, his voice serious, yet respectful of Omi's feelings.  "I…will help her block the pain, even the memories…if she wants…but that is the most any of us can do…"  Omi nodded slightly.  "But that still doesn't explain why you are sleeping so early in the day…"

"I'm just…tired…"  He ran a hand through is hair then let the hand flop down to his lap.

_these_ wounds won't seem to heal__

_this_ pain is just too real__

_there's_ just too much that time cannot erase__

Omi followed Schuldig out of the room and paused when he saw everyone else standing in their battle gear.  "What's…happening?"

Aya was the first to respond, "We have to stop some of the clans from becoming too powerful…"

"We have to give Nagi enough time to try his plan…" Crawford started.

"Nagi has a plan?" Omi blinked and scanned the group, realizing that Nagi was in fact, not present.  He looked at Crawford questioningly.

The precog nodded to Omi, "Hai…and I think he could use your help.  He's in the lab in the basement."

"Alright…but will you all be ok?"

Youji chuckled, "Of course we'll be fine."

Omi nodded and watched as they left.  Securing the door behind them, he turned and made his way to the basement.  He paused in awe at all the electronics that were down there. "Nagi-kun…what…are you building?"

Nagi looked up and pulled off some wielding glasses, "Ah, Omi…good, I need your help. I think...if we can get it to work…we can prevent this catastrophe…before it even has a chance to start…"

_when_ you cried i'd wipe away all of your tears__

_when_ you'd scream i'd fight away all of your fears__

_and_ i've held your hand through all of these years__

_but_ you still have all of me__

Omi sat down with his glass of water and looked over the half built machine.  Would it really work? And…if so…what would happen to him?  What…would happen to her?

_i've__ tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone_

_and_ though you're still with me__

_i've__ been alone all along_

_05/08/03__ – By: Akari Kanzaki_


	9. Mistakes of the Past

Author's Note:  The initial group of Weiß Kreuz characters spoken of in the story is the Glühen characters.  Any original WK characters will be noted when/if they appear.  

_(g)_ – glühen

_(o)_ – original      

**Mistakes of the Past**

Five men and one woman stood in front of Crawford.  He eyed the orange hair man standing farthest to the left and nodded slightly.  "Schuldig will go with you.  Nagi and I will stay here and monitor your progress."  He closed his eyes momentarily, flashbacks of the past two years appearing before his eyes.  Even as a precog, he hadn't been able to see the events that had happened; events that had actually bonded Schwarz and Weiß together as a team.  Now they had the chance to correct what had happened; and if they didn't, the human race was doomed.

Nagi peeked out from the operating booth he was sitting in.  "We're ready to start." Many heads nodded in response as Crawford walked behind the booth with Nagi. 

The six stared at the machine in front of them, every one of them was nervous.  It didn't matter that Omi and Nagi had tested the machine hundreds of times, they were still nervous.  What if it didn't work right?  What if it sent them to the wrong place or time?

Schuldig took the initiative, pushing Aya and Youji up onto the platform.  Ken sighed as he followed them up.  On the floor though, Omi tried to coax the woman who was clinching onto his hand, her eyes clamped shut.  "I can't … I'm scared …" she whined.

Omi pulled the slightly shorter woman into a hug, whispering softly into her ear.  "It's ok Akane.  I'm here with you…but we have to try…you know that."  She nodded meekly and reluctantly followed him up onto the platform with the others.

Youji stood at the back of the group with Ken, both were grumbling about this.  Aya and Schuldig just stood quietly, but their eyes showed their determination to complete the 'mission'.  Omi looked over at Crawford and Nagi at the control booth.  "We're as ready as we'll ever be. Let's get this mission started."

Nagi nodded and started flipping switched and typing in commands on the keyboards.  The platform that the six were standing on started to glow.  Everyone, except for Ken (who had his sunglasses on), closed their eyes shut as the light grew brighter.

Crawford squinted as he watched the light.  Soon though, the light grew so bright that Nagi was forced to press a button which caused the glass of the booth they were in to darken to pitch black.  Finally the computer let off a soft ping, and the glass returned to normal.  Crawford looked at the empty platform and murmured quietly, "Good luck…"

As the light had died away, Ken was the first to open his eyes and view the surroundings.  They were in a rather secluded forest area.  He paced away from the group as Youji checked for all his limbs, Akane clung to Omi who was trying to calm down and Schuldig scanned the area mentally for signs of other people.  Aya followed Ken's idea, but going in a slightly different direction to scout out the area.

Ken and Aya came out of the forest about twenty yards from each other.  The forest bordered on a local park that they were all familiar with.  It was night though, so there were very few, if any people in the vicinity.  Schuldig walked up behind Aya, the others following behind the orange haired German.  "There _are three people in the park, and I think we really need to avoid them."  _

Ken walked over as Schuldig spoke.  "Why's that?"

Schuldig looked at the other assassin, "Would you want to run into a younger version of _yourself?"_

"Oh…no….who is it?" Ken asked, with a bit of chagrin.

"Crawford, Nagi and Farfarello…"  Schuldig looked mildly upset at the last name mentioned.

Akane bit her lower lip and looked up at Omi worriedly.  He just shook his head at her then looked at the others.  "We should head to the warehouse…"

Youji rubbed his elbow, still not sure if he was all 'there' "How do we know for sure its there? I mean, what date is it? Did we get to the actual coordinates that Nagi programmed in?"

Schuldig looked distanced for a moment then nodded, "Were a day early actually."

That statement got an immediate reaction out of Youji. "Early???? EARLY???? How do we know that everything else go here right? EH???"  The look on his face was one of concern, but the others just chuckled at him.

Omi chuckled, "Actually it makes sense Youji.  Remember that when 'it' happened, some weird stuff happened." Everyone nodded solemnly at that.  After a moment of silence, Omi spoke again, "A day early…it won't be at the warehouse yet…we'll have to wait."

Aya turned to look out towards the ocean.  "We should go check, just in case."  He turned back to look at the others, just to notice Schuldig in another one of his gazes.  "Schuldig…?" The others immediately turned their attention to the telepath as well at the sound of concern in his voice.

It took a moment, but Schuldig finally responded. "We need to move…the other me…just arrived…and I think he may have picked up on us."

They nodded in response and quickly headed back into the forest and towards the park exit furthest away from the old Schwarz team.

_(At the Koneko)_  Weiß _(orig.)_ sat downstairs in the briefing room as Persia gave them their orders.  Someone was importing stolen goods from Russia.  Many of the goods were mass weapons of destruction.  Some of the people that had bought the items had already caused mass panic in Tokyo.  The mission…to find and stop the people who were importing and distributing these stolen items and make sure no more items fall into the wrong hands.  

Ken yawned and leaned back, "Isn't this just something the police can handle? Why do we have to do it?"

Manx scowled at him slightly and handed Aya a folder.  "This is a list of some of the items stolen from Russia.  Many were items collected during the time of the Soviet Union and therefore really don't belong to Russia, but other surrounding countries.  While most of the items are dangerous weapons, some hold great historical value for their native homelands."

Youji turned slightly to look at Manx, "So returning those items to their homelands would but the Japanese government in a favorable light."

Ken scowled more, "What does that have to do with us?"

Aya broke in before Youji or Manx could snap at Ken, "Some of these items look like things that Este might be after…"  Ken mouthed a silent 'Oh' after that. 

Omi peeked over Aya's shoulder a moment then went to the computer, typing in a series of commands.  "I think I know the approximate area that they may have a warehouse to be operating out of."

The others came around behind Omi and looked at the computer screen.  Manx watched them for a moment, then quietly slipped out.   

_(Original Schwarz)_ Schuldig looked towards the forest, and Farfarello was immediately away in the direction he was pointed.  Crawford stepped up next to Schuldig as Nagi ran after to help Farfarello.  "Who exactly is it? Weiß?"

Schuldig shook his head.  "What I picked up seemed similar to Weiß but completely different at the same time.  I didn't even sense that little brat Bombay."

The group cleared the forest and headed towards the exit at the fastest pace possible.  Schuldig_(g) paused for a moment and turned to look back for a moment.  With a grunt he spun and quickly caught up to the others, mentally telling them what happened, __"They've sent Farfarello and Nagi after us…"_

Omi winced slightly but continued running, thinking to Schuldig, _"This is the last thing we need…"_

At the road the stopped, Aya turned to face them "Lets split up.  Omi and Akane with me,  Schuldig you take Youji and Ken…meet us at the main warehouse…three hours."  Heads nodded in acknowledgement and no more words were spoken as the team immediately broke up.

Nagi_(o)_ and Farfarello_(o) paused at the road glancing both ways, they had barely seen the group break up.  "Could you make out who any of them were?" Nagi asked Farfarello.  The other just shook his head.  With a frown, Nagi queried Schuldig__(o) on what they should do._

Schuldig_(o)_ looked at Crawford_(o), "Whoever it was split up and they lost them.  They weren't able to make out who it was.  What do you want them to do?"_

Crawford pondered for a moment.  "Come back.  We'll deal with whoever it was later."

Night eventually turned into day and the _Koneko opened up for its daily routine, minus one member. Aya_(o) _scowled as he took out the trash then walked back in, "Where is Youji?!"_

Ken_(o) yawned and looked over from the register, "Still asleep I believe…"  He chuckled as Aya walked into the back towards the apartment muttering._

Omi_(o) blinked and walked over with a hand full of flower to arrange. "What's with Aya?"_

Ken shifted to look over at him, "Annoyed at Youji sleeping in and not helping out … like usual."

"Oh…" Omi shrugged and set about his flower arrangement.

Ten minutes later they heard a loud thump as Youji hit the floor and a bit of profanity quickly followed.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) for Ken and Omi, the chime sounded as some customers entered the shop.  Omi and Ken looked over to see a brunette woman and an orange haired man.  Both had a knot quickly tighten in their stomach at the sight of the hair.  Their thoughts in unison 'Schuldig'.

But as the man turned and they could see his face, they only saw a vague resemblance to the German assassin; and while it was close, it didn't look enough like him…especially since the smile on his face was obviously genuine when he looked at them.

Schuldig_(g)_ smiled at them, it was so hard internally to not slip up.  At least Akane had the advantage of them not knowing her in this time period.  _"They were rather suspicious a second ago, Akane…but I think we're ok for now…"  _

She turned to look at him and smiled slightly at him, _"Just…don't forget what we're here for…" _He nodded and smiled at her.

Omi and Ken watched the couple.  Ken leaned over to whisper to Omi while the couple apparently browsed the flowers, "She's pretty…so that means it can't be Schuldig…"  Omi chuckled at that.

Schuldig flinched internally at that, but did his best not to show it.  "See anything you like?" He asked Akane.

Akane sighed and shook her head, looking mildly depressed. "No…I don't." 

Omi heard her and immediately walked over.  "Is there something I can help you find?"

Akane looked up and smiled at him, "I'm looking for _Dendrobium.  Have you heard of it? It also goes by the name King Orchid."_

Omi blinked and looked back at Ken who had been listening.  The name of the orchid, _Dendrobium, was actually a code word for Weiß members.  But the problem was, were these people really covert members, or were they actually looking for the flower.  Ken nodded slightly at him to let him know he'd watch the strangers so he could talk to Aya.  "I'm not sure if we have any in the back…let me…go check." Omi waited for the two to nod slightly, and then quickly slipped into the back._

Aya stalked out of Youji's room as the elder assassin slammed the door so he could get dressed.  Aya stopped suddenly as Omi rushed up in front of him and explained in detail what happened.  With a nod, Aya turned and walked down the stairs.  Omi blinked, then followed him…all the way to the basement where Aya turned on the camera to see who these people were.  "Schuldig…"

"I'm really not sure if its him or not Aya-kun…" Omi fidgeted slightly.

In the shop Akane attempted to look through more flowers.  Schuldig attempted to watch Akane, but couldn't help but glace at Ken on occasion who was watching them rather intently.  He paused and scanned the room, happening to look straight into the camera at one point.  A mistake he realized instantly, but attempted to play it off.

Aya frowned as Schuldig looked into the camera, "No…that's him alright.  He's done something to alter his appearance, but its him."

Schuldig looked back at Akane as she 'searched' _"I think Aya knows back there…and I don't think we'll get close enough to find out what we need." Akane looked up at him with a pout, but mentally she was glaring at him._

Aya turned to Omi, "Just tell them we don't have any.  I don't trust them…"

Omi just nodded and ran up out of the basement, then walked back into the flower shop.  "I'm sorry, but we don't have any.  Ken heard what Omi said and quietly slid his hand to a nearby knife.

Both Schuldig and Akane picked up on the motion though; however, neither reacted.  Akane just pouted more for Omi and Ken, "Oh well…guess we'll have to keep looking…" She turned and tugged on Schuldig's arm, "Come on Jon…"

Schuldig nodded to Ken and Omi, and almost stumbled as Akane tugged.  "Ech…slow down Akane…I'm coming!!!"

With a frown, Aya continued to watch the monitors as the two left.  Youji came stalking down the stares to have more works with Aya when he spotted the look on his face.  "Who are those people…?"

Aya looked over at Youji, "The woman asked for a _Dendrobium_, but the man with her was Schuldig…"

Youji's eyes narrowed as he looked at the screen as well.  "This isn't good."

Schuldig_(g)_ and Akane made their way back to the warehouse where the rest of the team was.  Omi_(g)_ looked up as the walked in and smiled as Akane immediately walked over and hugged him.  Schuldig walked over to Aya_(g), Ken__(g) and Youji__(g).  _

Aya looked at him, "What did you all find out?"

Schuldig glared slightly and muttered, "I don't know why you all just can't remember…" 

Ken groaned slightly and shook his head, "Duh…what happened the past two years…."

Schuldig sighed, "Alright, alright…couldn't find anything out…they recognized me…"

Youji grunted, "Told you they would…"

Omi and Akane walked over to the rest of the group.  "They'll be here tonight…around 1 am." Everyone but Omi turned to look at Akane.  Questioning looks compelled her to continue, many hoping she would tell how she knew.  "No one ever asked before whether I was telepathic or not…" She just smiled innocently.

Some grumbles went around before Omi silenced them, "We know when they will be here…we need to prepare.  Let them take care of their stuff…try not to interfere with their 'fights'…and focus on finding 'it' before they find us…"

Akane looked at Omi, "Isn't there a chance that it's already somewhere in that warehouse? Why don't we start looking now! Maybe we could get out of here before they even show up."

The others glanced at each other and nodded slightly.  "We still have the warehouse personnel to deal with though…"

Schuldig thought a moment, "Maybe we can make the warehouse personnel think we are there to just check the contents…make sure they are intact and what not…"

Aya nodded at that, "That could work…Youji…Ken…go see if you can find us some official looking uniforms."  The two nodded and quickly headed out.  Aya then looked at Omi and Schuldig, "Lets see if we can remember exactly which warehouse it was in…"

Schuldig_(o)_ and Crawford_(o) climbed out of the limousine that had pulled up in front of warehouse B-14.  A man in a grey overall suit walked up to them and asked for ID.  Crawford pulled out some papers to show the man, who quickly and quietly moved out of the way and let them in._

Inside the warehouse there were isles upon isles of crates.  Each filled with items ranging from Soviet weapons to historical artifacts from all over Middle and Eastern Europe.  They walked down the isles, checking lightly over the crates.  Finally after an hour, they exited the warehouse.  Crawford climbed back into the limousine again, but Schuldig paused a moment before following.  He looked up at the roof of C-14 and scowled slightly.

A shadowy figure disappeared just as Schuldig looked up.  Crawford looked out at the telepath, "What is it?"

Schuldig shrugged and climbed in, "I thought I felt something."

Crawford nodded, "Weiß…"

"Iie…" Schuldig glanced back at the roof as the limo drove off, "Something…more dangerous to us than Weiß…"

Night had fallen and the team_(g)_ had been in the warehouse for several hours.  After Crawford_(o)_ and Schuldig_(o) had left, they had waited thirty minutes then went over (dressed in similar grey overalls) to the man in charge of the warehouse, telling him that they had been sent to inspect inside of the crates.  They had been through hundreds of crates by now and had yet to find the 'item'._

Akane sighed and sat down, looking at Omi tiredly.  "This could take forever…"

Omi, looking just as tired as Akane nodded, looking at his watch. "Unfortunately…we only have till 3 am…"  Akane closed her eyes and nodded, finally sitting back up and going through a new crate.

Outside the warehouse Aya_(o)_, Youji_(o)_, Omi_(o),_ and Ken_(o) prepared to go in, already having taken out several guards.  The current owner of the crates and the final few members of his security team rushed into the warehouse only to find crates opened everywhere.  "SHIMATTA!!!" the owner yelled._

Omi_(g) and the others quickly hid.  The last thing they needed was to get in the middle of the battle.  Akane glanced out to watch as the younger Weiß members started fighting the security guards that remained.  She narrowed her eyes as she saw four other figures slip in through the open door.  Pulling back she whispered to Omi, "Schwarz is here…"  Omi just clenched his eyes shut at that news.  _

Akane frowned at his reaction and peeked back out to watch Schwarz fight with Weiß.  She then watched as the owner quietly scrambled away from the fight.  Her mind decided to follow him, as he may know where the item was that she was looking for.

Quietly she slipped out of hiding and followed him.  The heavyset man made his way towards the back door, but had to pause for breath.  She walked up behind him. "Hello…"  

He spun around and shrieked at her presence.  "What …do you want … from me???" 

Her eyes narrowed and glowed amber, "Where is the crate with the **Stone?"**

His eyes widened and he backed up against the crate…"I…I don't know what you are talking about…get away from me!!!!"

Aya_(o)_, Omi_(o), Omi_(g)_, and Youji_(g)_ heard the man's shriek of fright and each made their way to see what was going on.  A second shrill shriek from him increased everyone's speed.  Omi__(g) and Youji however, held back when they saw Aya and Omi from the younger team appear on the scene. _

Aya and Schuldig glanced at the woman that had the owner pinned against the crates, then looked at each other.  Omi_(o)_ pulled out some darts with sedative on them and tossed them, hitting Akane in legs.

Omi_(g)_ winced as she let out a yelp and fell.  She wasn't unconscious though, just dazed.  The frightened owner just sunk down to the floor.  Aya_(o)_ and Omi_(o)_ walked warily over to Akane who was trying to shake off the effects of the sedative. Youji_(g)_ frowned as he watched as well, he didn't like what he saw one bit.

Omi frowned and hissed, "Aya…she should be out…"  

Aya just nodded his acknowledgement and drew his sword, pointing it at Akane.  "Who are you? What are you doing here?" Akane looked up at Aya and Omi, and then attempted to stand up, with no effect.  "Answer me!"

Omi_(g)_ looked at Youji, "Can you go in there and get her out?"  

Youji_(g) glanced at Omi then nodded, "Yeah…give me a second…"  He made his way close to the edge of a stack of crates and aimed hi watch at Omi's_(o)_ feet.  Suddenly the younger Omi felt his legs tied up and seconds he hit the ground as Youji yanked his feet out from under him._

Aya spun and looked at Youji as the older assassin walked out from the shadows, "Youji! What are you doing?"  

Youji glanced at Akane then back at Aya, "I can't tell you that" and quickly shot wire at Aya, trapping his arms to the side.  Youji quickly dashed around the two younger versions of his teammates and scooped Akane up.  Avoiding Aya's swings with the sword, he dashed back into the shadows.  Omi_(g) saw Youji get Akane, and quickly moved to meet them elsewhere in the warehouse._

Schuldig_(o) and Farfarello_(o)_ had followed Aya and Omi, but they remained in the shadows watching the events.  When Youji outright 'attacked' Aya, Schuldig stepped out into the light.  Something was wrong, and it had a similar feeling to what he felt the night before._

Aya looked at Schuldig and glared, "You did this…didn't you…" Omi grunted as he finally got into a position where he could sit up and was attempting to cut Youji's wire…which seemed stronger than normal.

Schuldig just frowned and shook his head. He motioned for Farfarello to come out and the two Weiß assassins glared at them.  "Cut them loose…"  Farfarello just stood and looked at him as if Schuldig was the one that had gone crazy. "NOW!"  Startled at the forcefulness coming from Schuldig, Farfarello quickly did as he was told.

Once free, the two Weiß assassins moved away. "What's going on?" Aya asked.

Schuldig looked around, "Whoever…THAT was…wasn't Balinese…"

"It…wasn't?" Aya and Omi looked at each other then at Schuldig.

Schuldig shook his head, "Well…it was…and it wasn't…I'm…reading two minds…but of the same person…and the one that was just here…isn't the Balinese that we know…"  
  


"What were you thinking?" Omi_(g) hissed at Akane._

She rubbed her eyes and sighed, "Trying to find the location of the **Stone** of course…"  Youji stood back and watched as the two argued.

"Arg…" Omi turned and punched a crate, his fist going easily through the wood.  Youji frowned…as that shouldn't have been something that the smaller assassin could do.  He was observing things that weren't adding up and it was beginning to worry him.

Akane lowered her eyes and sighed.  Omi went to pull his hand out then paused. "I…found it…"

Both Youji and Akane looked up.  Youji picked up a crowbar and immediately went over and began prying the crate open as Omi backed up to stand with Akane.

A moment later Schuldig_(g), Ken__(g), and Aya__(g) came up.  Schuldig having 'received' a 'message' from Akane about Omi finding the **Stone.  The other three men began helping Youji open the box, which quickly fell apart, the sound of the wood hitting on the floor and resounding throughout the warehouse.**_

Aya_(o), Omi__(o), Schuldig__(o) and Farfarello__(o) heard the sound and immediately ran in that direction.  Schuldig quickly told Crawford to hurry to their location…and to bring the rest of Weiß with them._

Crawford looked at Nagi and made a motion for them to go in the direction of the sound.  Upon them leaving so quickly…Youji and Ken quickly followed them, not about to let them get away.  
  


The crate was packed full of the filling that was normally placed in to protect fragile items.  Carefully the group dug through the filling looking for the **Stone.  Aya_(g)_ stepped back a moment later, "I have it."  In his hands he held the object.  It was about six inches tall, four inches wide, and two inches thick.  Amber in color, when light hit it, it shone brightly.   On the top of the stone was a type of engraving that was colored in black.**

Omi_(g)_ stepped forward to look at it.  "We have to destroy it now!"  The shakiness in his voice reminded them all of how urgently they had to do so.

With a nod, Aya set it down on the ground and backed a step away.  He drew his sword and struck at the stone.  A loud clang was heard all throughout the building, but the **Stone was undamaged.**

"Let me try…" Ken_(g)_ walked up and tried his hand at the stone.  Sparks flew as he hit at it with the claws of his weapon, but when he backed away, again the **Stone** was undamaged.

"What the fu…" The group spun around to see their younger counterparts and team mates.

"Great…I knew this was gonna happen…" Ken_(g)_ muttered.

While the counterparts stood and eyed each other, Akane moved over to the **Stone.  She knelt down beside it and placed her hands about three inches above it, the tips of her thumb and pointer fingers touching to form a diamond above the ****Stone.  **

Crawford_(o)_ stepped up in front of the younger Schwarz and Weiß teams and eyed the 'clones'.  A moment after studying them, he spoke "You all are from the future."  The statement was pointed more at Schuldig_(g)_ than any of the others.

Schuldig_(g) blinked and looked over at his current team mates.  With a signal from Aya__(g) he turned back to Crawford. "Yes, we are."_

"What the fuck is this?" Schuldig_(o) let burst out, stepping up next to Crawford.  "If he's me…why is he working with them?" pointing accusingly at the former Weiß team._

Aya_(o) and Youji_(o)_ stepped up as well.  "We'd like to know that as well." Youji asked accusingly.  The rest of the two teams quietly made their way 'around' the other group, somewhat encircling them._

Omi_(g)_ sighed and stepped up next to Schuldig_(g) to face Crawford and the others around him.  "We…work together now…we have to in order to survive."  The skepticism on the faces told him to continue.  "We came back to … stop a terrible disaster from happening.  If we don't stop it … everyone will die."  The rest of the team from the future kept an eye on their younger selves and teammates.  This really wouldn't bode well for them if they wouldn't believe what Omi told them. _

"What type of disaster?" Crawford asked, the procog definitely did not believe him.  "If there was some great disaster that you speak of, I would at least know of it."

Omi closed his eyes for a moment. "You didn't see this one coming.  No one did.  What happened was greater than any human mind could comprehend."  He slowly opened his eyes again, staring straight at Crawford.  What Crawford saw in Omi's eyes caused him to take a step back.  

The discussion was cut short as a light that had slowly been growing in the room began to glow bright enough to it to seem as if it were day.  Everyone's attention turned towards Akane.  Her hands were aglow with a bright white light, and the amber color of the **Stone was reflecting it.  Sweat beaded up on her forehead.  Her eyes stared blankly ahead as she concentrated on her task.**

"What…is she doing?" Nagi_(o) asked._

"Trying to destroy the **Stone** before … it's too late …" Omi's voice cut off and his teammates looked at him worriedly.  "AKANE! GET AWAY!" He lunged at her, knocking her away from the **Stone**.  

Everyone moved away from the **Stone as it seemed to grow.  Light was emanating from it on its own now.  The engraving on the top opened and a blackish-reddish light streamed into the room.**

"Iie…Iie…" Omi_(g)_ murmured.  

"I think its time for Plan B…" Ken_(g) muttered to his teammates, pulling out a pack and carefully opening to reveal several pieces of wood._

Youji_(g) looked over at Ken and nodded, pulling his trench coat back to pull out their former teammate, Kyou's weapon.  "I thought this might come in handy."  Aya__(g) looked over and nodded slightly._

The younger teams just started on in awe…not sure what was happening or what to do.  Schuldig_(g)_ turned to them.  "If you aren't going to help…get out of here!  We already know how to fight this demon…so get out of here before you become casualties!"

The younger Schuldig took offense at his elder's remarks.  But before he could say something, Crawford turned to him, "He's right…we need to get out of their way…"  With that from Crawford, Schwarz began back out of the area.

Aya_(o) watched Schwarz leave, then looked at the scene unfolding in front of them.  "Let's go…" and with that Weiß also dispersed._

Schuldig_(g) looked over at his teammates, just in time to catch a piece of the wood tossed to him by Ken_(g)_.  Aya__(g), with his katana still drawn nodded to the other three who each had weapons.  "Let's spread out…"  The others nodded and they surrounded the still growing **Stone.**_

Schuldig came around to where Omi and Akane were and looked down at them.  They were sitting on the floor, backs against a crate, huddling against each other.  The fear on their face was enough alone to tell the telepath that both were too fear struck to help.  His attention was suddenly drawn back to the **Stone** though as a loud ripping was heard accompanied with a shrill shriek.  The glow began to die and what remained of the **Stone** fell away like limp cloth, leaving only that of a figure clad in black.  The figure stood at most at 5'10".  Its eyes glowed red as it turned to scan the room, its eyes landing on Akane and Omi.  "So you are the ones I have to thank for my release…" The voice was that of a male, but it was cold and raspy.  Slowly he started to walk towards the two.

If they were going to succeed, they had to act now.  The four who were prepared to fight rushed in towards the man.  Youji swung the ax at the man's head, but the man simply put out his hand towards Youji and he the assassin was flung backwards into some crates.   

"SHI-NE!!!!!!" Aya screamed, coming down at the man with the katana prepared to slice through him. The man's eyes glowed brighter for a second and he turned, his hand outstretched at Aya, sending him as well into a stack of crates. 

Ken and Schuldig both rushed in while he was distracted with Aya, stabbing the wooden stakes into the man's chest.  The man screamed and flung the two assailents back as well.  
  


Nagi looked at Crawford.  "Was it wise leaving them like that?  What if they were telling the truth?  What if they fail?  Will we suffer this disaster they were talking about?"  Nagi's questions stopped them all…both Schwarz and Weiß.  None of them had thought of that at the moment.  "Well I'm not going to walk off and wait to see what happens…"  With that, the young member of Schwarz turned and ran back to where the fight was going.

Crawford watched Nagi run off then looked at Farfarello, "Go with him."  At the word of 'go' alone, Farfarello was off, following closely behind the telekinetic boy.

The members of Weiß watched as the two ran off then looked at each other.  No words were spoken, but all turned and ran back in as well.  
  


Nagi skid to a stop just as Schuldig and Ken hit the floor.  Youji was attempting to get up from his blow, but seemed to be in too much pain to do so.  Instead he was aiming his watch to fire his wire at the assailant.  Nagi glanced over at Aya and saw that he was out cold.  

The man paid no heed to the attack that Youji seemed to aim at him.  Instead he was walking towards Omi and Akane again.  Nagi looked at them and saw the fear on the girls face, but wasn't the least surprised when Omi got up and moved between her and the assailant.  

Schuldig_(g) looked over at Nagi, _"Kill him…you have to kill him…"__

Nagi looked over at Schuldig, _"How?"_

Schuldig winced and rolled over a bit,_ "See the broken pieces of wood…? Embed those into his heart…"_

Nagi looked around and nodded, then turned to Farfarello. "Go in and distract him for me."  Farfarello grinned and went in, sending knives flying at the man in black.  

The man turned to look at Farfarello, his eyes glowing bright red.  He stretched out his hand in an attempt to knock Farfarello back like he had with the others, but Farfarello avoided the attack.  Nagi used the time to cause the pieces of wood to rise up, focusing all of his energies into the task. 

Omi turned and helped Akane up while the assailant was distracted by Farfarello.  "Omi…" Akane pointed to the pieces of floating wood.

He turned to look at them then looked over at Nagi and smiled.  "Ok…let's get the others out of the way…"  She nodded and they went separate directions.  Omi went and moved Aya and Schuldig out of Nagi's way, while Akane helped Youji and Ken.

The man was getting frustrated with Farfarello.  He couldn't seem to get a good hit on the man, and even when he did, it didn't seem to affect him all that much.  Nagi opened his eyes, and the wood went flying at the man, avoiding Farfarello in the process.  The wood embedded itself in him and the man let out a howl of pain, falling to his knees.

Akane's eyes widened, "It's not going to be enough!"

Weiß walked up and looked at the man.  "What needs to be done?" Aya_(o)_ asked coldly.

Omi_(g)_ looked at him, "Cut his head off…"

Aya_(o) nodded and ran at the man, quickly unsheathing his katana and striking down on the man.  As Aya turned around, the head of the man hit the ground.   Then, as everyone watched the head spoke, "I may be gone…but I'm not the last…"  Evil laughter filled the room as the head and body turned to ashes._

Schuldig_(o) and Crawford_(o)_ finally joined up with the rest.  "That was a little too freaky for me…" Schuldig mumbled as he looked at the pile of dust.  The elder Schuldig__(g) looked up at his younger counterpart, then shook his head._

Ken_(g)_ rubbed his neck, "Hey…guys…if we fixed the future…why…are we still here?"

Those from the future turned and looked at Ken, then at each other.  He was right.  Had the future been altered like it was supposed to, they would have disappeared…returning 'home'.  Aya_(g) frowned, "He said that he wasn't the last…but…he was the first and without him there wouldn't be any others…"  The six looked at each other.  _

The younger teams looked at each other, mainly confused because they didn't know what was going on.  Finally Schuldig_(o) spoke up.  "He was a vampire, wasn't he?"  Nods answered his question.  "So…you came back to stop him from creating others like him who would then terrorize the world?"  More nods confirmed this as well.  He stepped back, eyeing the group from the future._

Nagi frowned and looked at them, "If killing him was supposed to take care of the vampires…then you all would have gone home the instant Aya cut off his head…"

Omi_(o)_ eyed the older version of his teammates, "So either there is another one of those stones…or one of you is a vampire…"

"Actually…it's two of us…" Omi_(g) stepped forward with Akane right behind him.  Ken__(g) turned away, and  Schuldig_(g)_ and Aya_(g)_ looked at them both sadly.  _

Youji_(g) closed his eyes, "I knew something was up…Omi's_(o)_ darts hardly having any effects on her…then you just punching through that crate like it was paper…"_

Omi_(g)_ nodded slightly.  "We didn't want to tell you…because we knew that you couldn't destroy the **Stone yourselves.  One of us would have to destroy it.  Unfortunately we weren't fast enough and he managed to escape the confines of the ****Stone."  He lowered his eyes slightly to look at the ground.**

Ken_(g)_ looked back at the two and gulped slightly, "So…in order for the rest of us to go home…you two…have to…die?" 

"That is correct…" Akane responded.

The other four members of the team looked at each other.  They all knew that none of them could willingly put to death their friends.  Finally, after watching the team from the future stand in silence, Crawford_(o)_ spoke up.  "We'll take care of it then…"  Eyes shot up to look at the cold look on Crawford.  The members of the future team realizing it wasn't the man they had grown accustomed to.  

Omi_(g)_ finally looked up, "That would probably be for the best."

Crawford nodded then looked to Nagi.  With a slight sigh he resigned himself to the task once more.  
  


Akane slipped her hand into Omi's.  He gave her hand a slight squeeze trying to reassure her.  It hadn't been that he wanted to become what he was.  Nor had he really wanted to bring her down with him…it had just been so lonely having become what he was.  Not being able to tell his friends because they would have to kill him.  She had willingly joined him…maybe because she felt sorry for him…maybe because she loved him.  He didn't know for sure, but none the less, she had been there for him when he had needed her.  

But now, it was resulting in both of their deaths.  They knew that the sacrifice had to be made.  If they were allowed to live, eventually the hunger would become more than they could bear and then they would become the monsters that they despised so much.  

With their deaths would come the freedom of humanity...their future rewritten on the canvas of time.  Their fellow teammates would go home to a different world.  Hopefully a better world than that they had come from.  That's all any of them could hope for.  Surely it had to be better than living in fear for your lives…for that was what the whole world had been doing since that night.

Suddenly though it seemed as time stopped.  Omi opened his eyes, having realized he had closed them.  He looked down at the wood sticking out of his chest.  It didn't hurt as badly as he had expected.  He looked over at Akane.  In her chest also stuck a piece of the wood.  She smiled at him sadly as if to say good bye.  He smiled back at her, a tear rolling down his cheek.  
  


Everyone watched as the two disappeared into dust.  A solitary tear falling down with the dust and landing softly in the grey powder.  Instantly, the four remaining members of the team also disappeared, returning to where they belonged.

Omi_(o)_ walked over to the remains and knelt down beside them.  At best he was in shock…having watched himself die…yet die so respectably.  He ran his fingers slowly through the dust, scooping a little into his hand and letting it slip through his fingers.

"Bombay…let's…go home…" Ken called to him.  Omi rose, walked over to his teammates and held out his hand.  In his palm rested a small tear shaped rose colored crystal.  The other three just stared at it.  A moment later, Schuldig, Nagi and Crawford walked over to see what Omi had found.

"Keep that, Bombay…and never forget what we witnessed here tonight…" Crawford spoke softly.  With that said, he quietly turned and left the warehouse, the rest of Schwarz following in quiet solemnity.

Omi slowly closed his fingers around the crystal and looked at the other three, "Yes…let's go home…"  
  


The four returned to their time and looked around.  They wondered if anyone would remember what they remembered.  They wondered what had happened these past two years.  They were in the same room that they had left from, but the electronic equipment that had been there before was not present now.

Crawford walked into the room and turned on the lights.  Nagi and Farfarello followed in behind them.  The team looked at them, then at each other, not sure what to do or say after what they had just been through.  Crawford eyed them all, "You…just got back, didn't you?"  They nodded in response.  "Then its time that we caught you all up on what has been happening since you…left…"   With that, he turned and walked back out.  The four filed out passed Nagi and Farfarello, who then turned and followed them.

Crawford led them up some stares and down a hall with plush carpet.  They came to a stop in front of two double doors which Crawford pushed open.  The room looked like an office with some couches.  One couch faced out a window where there was one figure sitting there.  He heard the door open and the people filing in.  He then rose and turned around to face them.  "Welcome back…" he held up a tear shaped crystal which caught the light…and filed the room with a soft blue light.

April 15, 2003  


Chapters  
Hello  
Life...  
Imaginary  
Taking Over Me  
Whisper  
The Man Without Fear  
Fade Out/Fade In  
Mistakes of the Past


	10. Let Go

Disclaimer: I do not own the song or the Weiß Kreuz Glühen characters. Akane, Mari, Nici and Crissy are mine though. ^_^ Have fun.

Song: 12 Stones – Let Go (from Daredevil Sound Track)

**_Let Go_**

Omi fingered the small, blue, tear shaped crystal.  It caught the sunlight and scattered rays of light around the room.  

"Itai! Omi! Put that thing away!" Youji whined as he covered his eyes.  Omi blinked and looked at the other assassin, quietly putting the crystal away.  

Attention was quickly pulled back to Crawford.  "So, while we all have our memories, no one else seems to remember anything."

"I believe it has something to do with the machine that Omi and I built." Nagi continued, "I believe it created a type of warped field around this building that protected us from the 'changes' that occurred when you all went to the past."

Crawford nodded, "Omi appeared just moments before you all arrived back, and he seems to remember everything as well."

"So…he has memories of both versions of the past?" Aya inquired.

Omi nodded, "Hai, I do."

"As will we all, as soon as we walk out of the building." Crawford finished.

The others looked at him, then nodded in understanding that he would know that based on his precognitive powers.  "Well, what are we waiting for?  Let's go remember our new past!" Ken said, jumping up and heading for the door.

The others quickly agreed and headed for the door, except for Omi.  He watched as the others left, there was no point in him going, he already knew both pasts. He even remembered how 'he' died.  He wondered how Nagi would be after 'remembering' that he was the one who had ended his and Akane's other life.  Standing slowly, he put his hands in his pocket and headed towards the door.

_I feel so alone   
again   
I know that I need you _

_To help me make it through the night   
and I pray   
That you believe in me   
You gave me my strength   
To face another day alone   
  
_

He walked out of the building and eyes the others who were standing around, a bit in shock.  The events of the past were probably overwhelming for them, and he could understand that quite well.  With them occupied with their memories of the past, he quietly walked past them and down the street.

An ice cream parlor caught the corner of his eye.  He paused and looked at it, remembering when he and Akane had gotten ice cream there.  A slight smile pulled at the corner of his mouth.  Quietly, he turned and continued on down the street, dodging and disappearing into the mass of people.

_I need you now   
my friend   
more than you know   
when will we meet again   
cause I can't let go   
of you   
  
_

The high school was crowded as usual as four girls fought to get there favorite lunch spot under one of the big trees in the courtyard.  Lunch bags opened and eyes peered over what friends had to eat.  "Ooo…I'll trade you this…for that…" A blonde held up a bag of something and pointed to something in her brunette friend's bag.

"No way, Crissy! It's MINE!" Akane held her lunch bag protectively.  The other two girls laughed as the two fought, a fight that soon ended in all of them laughing.

"Hey…who is that?" Mari motioned over to the fence.  "He just keeps staring over here."

The other three blinked and turned to look at the man standing at the fence.  "No clue…" Nici and Crissy murmured.

Akane blinked as she looked at him.  Something in the back of her head told her she knew him, but for the life of her, she couldn't place him.  Even as he stared directly back at her, she continued to look.  Something seemed extremely sad in his eyes.  But no matter how hard she wracked her brain, she couldn't figure out who he was.

Her three friends immediately noticed the reaction.  "Akane?" Mari prodded, "Do you know him?"

Snapped from her contemplation, she turned to look back at them. "I…don't think so…He seems familiar…but I can't seem to place him…" She turned back around to look at him, "He's…gone…"

"Freaky…" Crissy shivered slightly.

"Think he's a stalker?" Nici inquired nervously.

"Akane…he could be, you seem to recognize him from somewhere…you might need to watch your back…" Concern filled Mari's voice.

"H...hai…" Akane turned back to her lunch and ate the rest of the time in silence.

_This world brings me down   
again   
I know that I need you   
To help me make it through the night _

_cause_ I know that your the one for me   
You gave me my strength   
to face another day alone  
  
__

Omi sighed and walked on to the police station.  He knew she didn't remember him, so there was no point in hanging around and scaring her.  "You really are pitiful, Bombay…"

His eyes widened and he turned to see Schuldig behind him.  "What do you mean by that?"

"I meant exactly what I said…you are pitiful."  Schuldig smirked and walked along side Omi.  "Admit it, you've always had 'feelings' for her, but you couldn't tell her.  You're job was to protect her."

Omi mumbled, "And I failed in even doing that…"

"Did you?" Schuldig put his hand on Omi's shoulder, stopping and turning him to face him.  "Omi…you did protect her.  Think about it, she's safe now…what happened, never really happened. Her parents are alive, both of them.  She'll most likely never find out she's telepathic unless something really traumatic happens to her.  That means she won't attempt suicide.  There aren't any vampires around now…so she's safe from that.  And…she was never raped.  Now…tell me, by going to the past, wasn't that the ultimate protection for her?"  He paused and picked up on a thought in Omi's head, "Stop that…you knew the instant that you bit her that you both would probably died in a fashion close to that.  But its in the past…she's safe NOW."

Omi lowered his head slightly.  "I…know…and I understand what you are saying…it's just…"

"It's just what? What is it, Omi? You feel guilty for the past?  How do you think the rest of us feel?  The past haunts us all.  But guess what…" He paused, causing Omi to look up at him, "It's exactly that…in the past.  We aren't going to be able to change it.  We were fortunate that we were able to correct that one horrible incident, but we can't do that all the time.  All we can do is learn from the past and move on.  You can't let it haunt you."

Omi blinked for a moment, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth again.  "That's funny hearing it come from you."

Schuldig's facial expression immediately changed, "Shut up."

Omi laughed and patted Schuldig on the shoulder.  "I appreciate it."

"No problem…see ya later…" with that, Schuldig turned and walked off.

_and_ I need you now   
my friend   
more than you know   
when will we meet again   
cause I can't let go   
no I can't let go__

Life at the Koneko continued on as nothing had happened.  Omi continued to work at the police station, just as he had since Persia had 'died'.  

The school season was coming to a close and soon high school graduations would be upon the city.  The Koneko was inundated with flower orders for the graduation ceremonies.  The police stations were flooded with calls to have officers stationed at the ceremonies…just in case someone tried to pull some pranks.

Omi flipped through his assignments and paused for a moment looking at one of them.  He smiled slightly then laid the papers back down on his desk.

 _as_ time passes__

_I find things never seem to change_

Nici, Mari and Crissy spent the night before graduation at Akane's house.  Her father cooked a special dinner for them and her mother fixed a beautiful dessert.  They went to bed semi-early, and woke up even earlier to help each other fix their hair and make-up.

Finally ready, they all piled into Akane's father's car and headed to the school.  "Wow…look at all the people!"  Nici murmured.

"Look at all the police officers to keep all the people in check!" Crissy seemed almost in awe.  "Mmm…men in uniform…"

"Crissy!!!" Mari and Akane poked her for that statement.

"Ouch! What? What?" Crissy batted her two friends hand's away.

Laughing, the four climbed out of the car and went inside for the ceremony.  They paused at one of the doors where a few officers were guarding it.  Seeing that the girls were students, they opened the doors and let them pass. Once inside, Mari turned to Akane, "Hey…wasn't one of them…"

Without needing Mari to finish, Akane nodded, "Hai…he was…"

Mari frowned slightly.  "Well…just…be careful…"

Omi sighed slightly as the four girls walked into the auditorium where the graduation was being held.

_when_ I feel alone__

_ you bring me back to you_

From his position, Omi watched quietly as the graduation ceremony completed.  He turned and signaled to the other officers and they started propping open the various exits around the building.  Moments later, high school graduates started pouring out the doors.

"AHHH!!! WE DID IT!! WE DID IT!!!" Mari, Nici, Crissy and Akane hugged each other and bounced around a bit as they exited.  

Omi watched with a sad smile as the four walked happily out of the school auditorium.  A hand rested on his shoulder and he looked up, "Aya-kun…"

Aya watched as the graduates left.  "You did good, Omi…but you have to let her go now."

_and_ I need you now   
my friend   
more than you know   
when will we meet again   
cause I can't let go   
of you__

_no_ I can't let go__

_05/12/03 – By: Akari Kanzaki_


End file.
